October 04, 2019 at 12:18AM
BERKELEY — A former University of California at Berkeley cheerleader claims that coaches ignored her concussion symptoms and forced her to perform stunts anyway, leading to more injuries and her ultimate withdrawal from the university, according to a lawsuit.
Melissa Martin filed the lawsuit in Alameda County Superior Court on Wednesday against the school, her coaches and USA Cheer, which oversees the sport nationally, seeking damages and asking that "reasonable concussion protocols" be implemented for collegiate cheerleaders.
Martin was a member of the Berkeley cheerleading squad from 2017-2018, according to the complaint, and suffered a serious concussion during an October 2017 practice. But head coach Lisa Keys discouraged her from seeking medical attention, the suit says, and later forced her to perform against doctor's orders.
She was re-injured several times over the following months, the complaint alleges, and took a medical leave of absence from school in September 2018. Since then, symptoms like nausea and confusion have continued to "radically impact her daily life," the complaint alleges.
The cheerleading team has 19 members, according to its website, while Keys' LinkedIn notes she has been employed as head coach since 2015.
A UC Berkeley spokesperson said the university had not been served with the lawsuit.
"While we cannot discuss specific individual cases due to privacy rights, we can talk about our processes," Herb Benenson said in an email. "Cal Athletics closely follows the dictates of a comprehensive policy on concussion management. This policy includes essential elements of concussion education and protocols for management of concussion."
Check back for updates.
BERKELEY — A former University of California at Berkeley cheerleader claims that coaches ignored her concussion symptoms and forced her to perform stunts anyway, leading to more injuries and her ultimate withdrawal from the university, according to a lawsuit.
Melissa Martin filed the lawsuit in Alameda County Superior Court on Wednesday against the school, her coaches and USA Cheer, which oversees the sport nationally, seeking damages and asking that "reasonable concussion protocols" be implemented for collegiate cheerleaders.
Martin was a member of the Berkeley cheerleading squad from 2017-2018, according to the complaint, and suffered a serious concussion during an October 2017 practice. But head coach Lisa Keys discouraged her from seeking medical attention, the suit says, and later forced her to perform against doctor's orders.
She was re-injured several times over the following months, the complaint alleges, and took a medical leave of absence from school in September 2018. Since then, symptoms like nausea and confusion have continued to "radically impact her daily life," the complaint alleges.
The cheerleading team has 19 members, according to its website, while Keys' LinkedIn notes she has been employed as head coach since 2015.
A UC Berkeley spokesperson said the university had not been served with the lawsuit.
"While we cannot discuss specific individual cases due to privacy rights, we can talk about our processes," Herb Benenson said in an email. "Cal Athletics closely follows the dictates of a comprehensive policy on concussion management. This policy includes essential elements of concussion education and protocols for management of concussion."
Check back for updates.