SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The family of a UC San Diego student claims the university is to blame partially for the death of their son, Brian Lilly.
This 27-page complaint explains why the Lilly family blames UCSD and others.
“He really enjoyed the team aspect of rowing with other athletes,” Brenda Lilly, Brian's mom, said.
The Lillys are still dealing with the loss of their son. As a freshman, Brian joined the university’s rowing team.
“They told me his physical and mental well-being would be protected," Brian's dad, Brian Lilly, said. "And I feel cheated. I don't think they protected him.”
The family says things started to change when he got a new coach.
“He [Brian] asked to have some things investigated on the team, and he was just met with resistance from the coach,” Brian Lilly said.
Court documents show Brian reported complaints about sexual misconduct allegations involving a teammate to his coach.
"In retaliation for complaining, the Coach subjected Brian to repeated verbal and psychological abuse, hostility, embarrassment, isolation, and demotion on the rowing team,” the complaint read.
It further states that Brian contacted the Coach’s Supervisor, sharing his concerns with her, but the document says nothing was done.
And when everything shut down in March 2020 during the pandemic, Brian moved back home to attend classes virtually.
During this time, his parents noticed a big change in Brian’s mental health, even needing to be hospitalized, and the family was trying to make sense of the situation.
"Trying to figure out if he did something wrong, was it his fault, how could this be happening,” Brenda Lilly said.
After some therapy and family discussion, Brian decided to return to campus in the Spring semester of 2021.
His parents came to San Diego to get him settled in, and the next day, they got a phone call informing them Brian had committed suicide.
“It's every parent's absolute nightmare .. to imagine how could this have possibly happened," Brenda Lilly said.
Now, they’ve filed a lawsuit against UC San Diego and others, hoping to bring about change on college campuses.
“There needs to be a greater awareness for their mental health, not just physical health," she said.
The University told ABC 10News that it could not comment on pending litigation.
ABC 10News also contacted the Coach’s attorney, who filed a countersuit for defamation. We are still waiting to hear back from him.
But court documents filed by his attorney state, “he had no in-person conduct with Brian Lilly during the nine months before his suicide.”
