By Marty Gordon
U.S. District Judge Michael Urbanski has ordered a Radford University baseball player, who came forward accusing his former coach of mistreating players, to no longer stay in the weeds.
He must no longer be listed as “John Doe” in the lawsuit against former Coach Karl Kuhn. Now, he must list his name in all court documents.
The court said it’s unfair to Kuhn, who resigned in the midst of player complaints. Urbanski called it an “inequality” in allowing the accuser to proceed pseudonymously while Kuhn is forced to defend himself publicly.
The former player said he sought to protect the privacy of his academic and medical records. In the suit, the student, who is black, said Kuhn prohibited players from attending a racial justice rally, which was being held on campus. A second accusation said Kuhn grouped minority players together in an area of the locker room.
Kuhn has denied the allegations.
The court said it would take the request under advisement for the next days, during which the former player must amend the suit to include his real name.
The unknown player has said he was targeted by his former coach after “leading” a group of players about their concerns over longtime verbal abuse.
Kuhn is the current pitching coach for the Charleston Southern Buccaneers, who are in the same conference as his former team, Radford.
In 2019, he was named the head baseball coach at Radford University. Three years later, he resigned in the midst of the investigation by the university’s human resources department. He was 47-64 at the school and was previously the pitching coach at the University of Virginia.