Lawsuit: Rutgers University baseball pitcher attacked manager

A former student manager for the Rutgers University baseball team is suing a pitcher, alleging the player attacked him in 2014 and caused permanent injuries to his neck.

baseball (Dejan Stanisavljevic, ThinkStock)

Albert DeSanto claims in the lawsuit that John O'Reilly first threatened to hit him with a shelf and then wrapped his arms around DeSanto's neck and lifted him off the ground. DeSanto required surgery to implant a plate and two screws into his spine following the encounter, according to the lawsuit.

The altercation unfolded in the early morning hours of Oct. 18, 2014, as DeSanto was returning to his dorm room, NJ.com reported. O'Reilly pulled a hose out of a janitor's closet, began spraying water and backed DeSanto into a corner when DeSanto told him he didn't want to be sprayed, according to the suit.

O'Reilly threatened to give DeSanto a concussion after he pushed O'Reilly away, the lawsuit says. As DeSanto was returning to his room, O'Reilly wrapped his arms around his neck and lifted him off the ground, the lawsuit says. DeSanto claims the move exacerbated a previous injury and injured bones in his neck.

O'Reilly pleaded guilty to disturbing the peace. His father noted a simple assault charge was dropped and he wasn't aware of DeSanto's injuries.

"Look, it's an 18-year-old kid in his first semester at college. What do I say?" Michael O'Reilly said of his son. "I don't know why this is news a year and a half later."

John O'Reilly, a starting pitcher and double major in criminal justice and labor studies, didn't respond to an email to his Rutgers account.

He was never disciplined by the university, according to DeSanto, who said the "administration acted improperly on this in order to avoid bad publicity and to protect O'Reilly."

The university declined to comment, citing the Family and Education Right and Privacy Act.

The lawsuit is seeking undisclosed damages.

Filed Under: Rutgers University

Categories: New Jersey News