Taken too far

Following+a+locker+room+assault+that+left+a+former+WSU+quarterback+with+a+broken+jaw%2C+wisdom+tooth+and+molar+tooth%2C+Domenic+Rockey%E2%80%99s+attorney+is+arguing+that+Rockey+is+eligible+for+full+financial+compensation.

Following a locker room assault that left a former WSU quarterback with a broken jaw, wisdom tooth and molar tooth, Domenic Rockey’s attorney is arguing that Rockey is eligible for full financial compensation.

Washington State University is facing a lawsuit from former walk-on quarterback Domenic Rockey, alleging that a demand for accountability from coaches led to an assault in Oct. 2013.

According to the suit, former defensive lineman Emmitt Su’a-Kalio punched Rockey in the jaw—breaking it, shattering a wisdom tooth and chipping a molar tooth. The incident led to what the suit claimed to be the end of Rockey’s football career.

The suit specifically cites WSU football coaches’ demand to “keep players accountable, “as reason for the assault. It claims that Su’a-Kalio—who speaks English as a second language—took the message literally, and “as a direct, proximate, and foreseeable cause” of the coaches instruction, punched Rockey, knocking him unconscious.

Rockey’s attorney, Joe Baker, said that WSU is liable because the school already viewed the incident as a football-related injury by splitting the cost of the required surgery with Rockey’s personal insurance. He said that last spring’s ruling allowing Northwestern football players to unionize will serve as precedent in the case.

Last March, the Chicago regional chapter of the National Labor Relations Board ruled that Northwestern football players qualify as employees of the university, according to ESPN.com.

Baker said Rockey is an employee of WSU, and therefore deserves full compensation for the injury suffered in the locker room. He said that while the injury itself was paid through a combination of the school and personal insurance, there is more than just the injury that needs to be compensated for.

“My client lost a lot of weight, his grades suffered and he had to have his jaw wired shut,” Baker said. “He was not compensated for his pain and suffering.”

WSU Sports Information Director Bill Stevens said that the Athletic Department has no comment on the lawsuit, as the legal process is still ongoing. Kathy Barnard, director of university communications, also refused comment.

The suit specifically cites Head Coach Mike Leach’s letter to the student conduct board after the incident in which Leach supported Su’a-Kalio. In the letter, Leach said, “There are occasions of misinterpretation that can take place, and when our coaches constantly preach to ‘keep each other accountable,’ Emmit took this literally.”

Furthermore, the suit claims WSU was negligent and reckless in failing to supervise Su’a-Kalio in the locker room. It states that adequate safeguards were not in place to make sure that athletes who speak English as a second language would not adopt a literal interpretation of instruction, evidenced by Su’a-Kalio striking another teammate he believed to be “not pulling his weight.”

Since the claim was moved from King to Whitman County, Baker said the time table on a settlement or verdict is unknown. He said the suit is very early in the legal process.