Parent Of Camper Suing Virginia Tech's Seth Greenberg For $2.5 Million

CHRISTIANSBURG — The father of a Wilson Memorial High School basketball player is suing Virginia Tech head coach Seth Greenberg for $2.5 million, claiming his son suffered brain injuries nearly two years ago at a basketball camp at the school.

The boy, 15 at the time, was attending Greenberg's "Team Camp" on June 19, 2009, when he slid across the baseline behind the backboard while chasing after a loose ball, according to a lawsuit filed in Montgomery County Circuit Court. The News Leader is not naming the youth because he is a minor.

He reportedly struck his head on an uncovered portion of a cinderblock wall that was just 33 inches from the baseline in the War Memorial Gymnasium, the lawsuit said.

The family's attorney, Eric D. Yost of Marks and Harrison in Staunton, said Tuesday the National Federation of High School Association stipulates that the buffer zone between the wall and the baseline must be no shorter than 36 inches with a preference of 10 feet, and that the NCAA mandates a 6-foot space.

"Had the distance from endline to wall met either the NCAA or NFHS standards, (the boy) would not have needlessly suffered the serious brain injury and skull fracture," Yost said in an email.

Also at issue was padding covering the wall.

"The padding was 14 inches above the ground," Yost said.

The NCAA requires wall padding in men's and women's basketball to be no more than four inches above the floor up to six feet. The American Standard for Testing and Materials International also has a four-inch rule, according to Yost.

The teen was left briefly unconscious from his collision with the wall, Yost said. He suffered vision problems, nausea, vomiting, hearing loss and head pain. The boy, now a junior at Wilson Memorial, also had his skull fractured, along with hemorrhaging and cerebral contusions.

Yost also claimed the game in which the injury occurred was officiated by an unqualified college student, despite a brochure touting high school referees at Greenberg's camp.

Although the teen has since recovered, Yost said he continues to be at-risk for concussions and other brain injuries.

Yost said he filed the lawsuit because of Virginia Tech's lack of movement. "We were hoping they would settle," he said. "They haven't negotiated with me at all."

A Tech spokesman did not return a call seeking comment.

Besides Greenberg, the Seth Greenberg Basketball Camp and the Commonwealth of Virginia also are named in the suit, which cited gross negligence.