Report: Former Toledo OL filed suit against Tim Beckman, others
A former Toledo offensive lineman reportedly filed a lawsuit in 2013 against Illinois coach Tim Beckman and five other members of his staff because of a 2011 incident.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Beckman was named in a lawsuit by former Toledo player Kyle Cameron. Beckman was previously the coach for the Rockets before he became Illinois' coach before the 2012 season.
In 2013, University of Toledo football player Kyle Cameron sued Beckman, five members of his staff and the university, accusing them of negligence and violating the state’s hazing law.
Cameron, an offensive lineman, alleged that a summer freshman workout, authorized by coaches, was run by seniors as a form of hazing and included a drill that permanently injured him. Records show Cameron was declared medically disqualified for football.
The suit was originally tossed because it was filed in the wrong court, according to an Ohio county judge. It has been re-filed in the proper channels.
Beckman's treatment of players has come under public scrutiny this week after former Illinois offensive lineman Simon Cvijanovic alleged Beckman of mistreatment. Cvijanovic, the team's starting left tackle, hurt his knee in 2013 and missed the final four games of 2014 because of a shoulder injury.
Per the suit, Cameron hurt his head because of the drill, which wanted linemen to jump off the backs of other linemen.
According to records, the July 12, 2011, "O-Line Challenge" required linemen — not wearing helmets — to run and jump off the backs of other linemen, who were on their hands and knees, and dunk a football over the crossbar of the goal post. While trying to dunk the football, Cameron allegedly fell and hit his head on the ground, possibly after also hitting it on the goal post, and was concussed.
"This occurred at an approximate height of 10 feet, and the impact was so severe that Kyle began to vomit and convulse with seizure," according to the Supreme Court request.
Following Cvijanovic's Twitter barrage against Beckman, another former Illinois player, Nick North, said Beckman wanted him to rush back from a knee injury. After North's allegations, Beckman released another statement and said he'd continue to treat his current and former players like family. Both North and Cvijanovic were at Illinois when Beckman arrived from Toledo.
llinois athletic director Mike Thomas said Monday that he supported Beckman and that his department would investigate Cvijanovic's claims.
For more Illinois news, visit OrangeAndBlueNews.com.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
