William J. Ford
·4 min read
Photo by Danielle E. Gaines.
A fired University of Maryland, Baltimore County, athletic director has sued the school, claiming he was “scapegoated” after a Justice Department investigation determined the university’s former swimming and diving head coach abused members of the team.
Brian Barrio said in a complaint filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court of Maryland that he “arrived on the campus” in January 2020 and was blamed for the behavior of swimming coach Chad Cradock, who died in 2021.
The Justice Department said in an investigation, which began in November 2020, that Cradock sexually and verbally abused members of the team for about five years.
Barrio “was responsible for blowing the whistle” on Cradock’s behavior, the suit said. It also notes part of a Baltimore Sun report that said, because of Barrio, a former male swimmer on the team felt safe enough to report Cradock’s behavior in 2020.
“There is little Brian will be able to do to get his career back on track at all, let alone back to where he would have been without these actions by UMBC,” the complaint said. “Scapegoated by UMBC and connected to the Cradock/UMBC debacle, Brian is unemployed, effectively unhirable and his reputation, job prospects, and future opportunities have been forever impaired and tarnished.”
The civil suit seeks an unspecified amount of monetary damages from defendants UMBC, the University System of Maryland Board of Regents and UMBC President Valerie Sheares Ashby, who began her tenure in August 2022.
A UMBC spokesperson said in an email Thursday the school does not comment on pending litigation.
School officials recently introduced Tiffany D. Tucker as the school’s sixth athletic director and the first woman and person of color to serve in that position. She will start her job Aug. 15.
Barrio had been working as athletic director at Central Connecticut State University when he interviewed for the UMBC job in November and December 2019. He repeatedly asked about Title IX concerns and about Cradock’s position in the department, but was assured by officials from UMBC President Freeman Hrabwoski on down that there were no problems.
But in his suit, Barrio said “UMBC leadership lied” about ongoing Title IX and human resources issues and allegations of sexual misconduct by members of the UMBC baseball team.
“Brian asked Dr. Hrabowski whether any current staff were implicated in the issues around the baseball case, or whether there were concerns about any current staff with respect to Title IX or other issues in general, and Dr. Hrabowski answered with a very firm ‘no’ – he made it clear that there were no other issues,” according to the suit.
Before taking the UMBC job, Barrio also asked about Cradock being both a coach and associate athletic director, overseeing aquatics. The suit claims Barrio was told Cradock “was an important and respected leader, that he ran a model program, that his presence on the senior staff was an asset” and that he was nothing “other than a ‘model citizen.’”
Barrio told Sheares Ashby in February of this year that a “prestigious institution with a better funded Athletic Department” sought him. The suit claims Sheares Ashby asked Barrio to stay and said his contract would be extended through 2028.
In February or March, according to the suit, Barrio first learned of Cradock’s behavior.
In March, the school released a statement that said, in part, “Those who were identified as failing to comply with their Title IX obligations—whether through action or inaction—will be held accountable.” The school rejected Barrio’s request to publish another statement “exonerating Brian or separating him from the DOJ Report findings.”
Barrio said he was fired on March 19, and announced his departure from UMBC on April 2 on X, formerly called Twitter.
The next day, the Board of Public Works approved a $4.1 million settlement with former members of the school’s swimming and diving team., with payments of either $60,000 or $180,000.
An agreement with the Justice Department outlines the school will make the payments. Some other requirements include restructuring its athletic department, providing annual training for students and employees on the school’s sex discrimination policy and adopting rules of behavior for coaching staff.
“Brian should have been applauded for his actions in quickly taking steps to remove Cradock from being in a position to continue with his physical and mental abuse, and for getting the Athletics Department back on track in the aftermath of Cradock and the cover up,” according to the suit. “Instead, he was fired and linked to the abuse and misconduct by Sheares Ashby and UMBC.”
