Alabama baseball coach Brad Bohannon among three sued over alleged mistreatment of former player

Alabama baseball coach Brad Bohannon, pitching coach Jason Jackson and athletic trainer Sean Stryker have been sued for alleged negligence, wantonness and breach of agreement for the handling of an injury to former baseball player Johnny Blake Bennett, according to court documents filed in Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court in March.

A hearing on the defenses' motion to dismiss is set for 2:30 p.m. on June 20, according to a court document filed Thursday.

“The University does not comment on pending litigation, but looks forward to sharing the actual facts with the court," UA athletics wrote in a statement to The Tuscaloosa News. "The mental and physical well-being of its student-athletes is of the utmost importance to the University.  We have supreme confidence in our coaching staffs and provide our student-athletes with access to the best sports medicine personnel and sports psychology practitioners in the country.”

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The complaint alleged the defendants did not properly handle the aftermath of a rib injury sustained during strength training in 2019 that led to difficulty throwing at long distances.

"Gosh, I really wish I could talk about some specifics," Bohannon said Friday after a loss to Auburn. "I really wish I could. But unfortunately, you know, I can't. I really believe that we provide our student-athletes with access to the absolute best sports medicine and sports psychology resources in the country, and you know, this is the third SEC school that I've been at, and I would put our sports medicine personnel against any school in the country and even professional organizations. They're just outstanding. We place a real premium on mental and physical well-being of our student athletes, so that's all I have to say about it."

The lawsuit alleged Bennett repeatedly told Bohannon, Jackson and Stryker something was wrong with his arm in 2019 and that Bennett was not provided with proper medical care. Bennett was later diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) and had surgery in March 2020. According to the lawsuit, Bohannon called in May during Bennett's training and rehab to tell him UA would not renew Bennett's scholarship.

Bennett transferred to Pensacola State College, a two-year school, where he withdrew because of "intense, stressful fear of failure and anxiety each time he pitched," according to the lawsuit. Then he transferred to Jacksonville State but was dismissed without explanation from JSU two days after playing Alabama in May of 2022, per the lawsuit.

The first complaint was filed on Sept. 19, 2022, and the defense filed a motion to dismiss on Dec. 19, 2022. An amended complaint was filed on March 10, 2023, and the new motion to dismiss was filed on March 31, 2023.

The Tuscaloosa News' Mikey DiLullo contributed to this report.