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Former TCU WR Kolby Listenbee Files Lawsuit Against TCU

Listenbee is claiming that TCU coaches and training staff rushed him back from an injury, which ended his chance at a productive NFL career.

By Jamie Plunkett
Kansas at Texas Christian Richard W. Rodriguez/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/TNS via Getty Images

Former TCU football player Kolby Listenbee has filed a lawsuit against TCU and the Big 12, claiming he was “pressured, humiliated, and harrassed,” into returning before an injury had healed completely. The lawsuit was first reported by the Fort Worth Star Telegram.

According to the Star Telegram’s report:

Rather than letting him recover, Listenbee alleges, TCU’s training staff “routinely injected him with pain and steroidal medications to make it possible for him to endure the pain of the injury while playing.”

Listenbee asserts that the “injection of steroids and pain medication, lack of rest due to harassment and abuse from the coaching staff, and strenuous play of football caused” his pelvic cartilage to damage to the point where a metal plate had to be inserted to fuse the bones. The lawsuit claims this ended Listenbee’s chances at the “NFL career he would have had.”

Specifically listed as defendants in the lawsuit are the following people:

  • Gary Patterson - TCU football head coach
  • Rusty Burns - TCU receivers coach
  • Doug Meacham - Former TCU offensive coordinator
  • Chris Del Conte - Former TCU Athletic Director
  • Dr. Karen Michele Kirk - Head TCU football team physician
  • Dr. Jason Mogoyne - TCU assistant team physician
  • David Gable - Head athletic trainer for TCU football
  • Zach LaCrosse - assistant athletic trainer for TCU football
  • Dillon Smith - assistant athletic trainer for TCU football

The university itself is also a defendant in the lawsuit, as is the Big 12. TCU released a statement earlier Thursday regarding the lawsuit.

As a practice, Texas Christian University does not comment on the specifics of pending litigation,” the release said. “However, TCU takes tremendous pride in its long-standing tradition of excellence in providing a positive experience for its student-athletes, especially in the areas of care, prevention and rehabilitation of athletic injuries.

Listenbee was drafted in the sixth round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills, but never played due to a hernia injury. He also spent time on practice squads for the Miami Dolphins and Indianapolis Colts.

This is an ongoing story, and we will update it accordingly.

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