By Austin Spears
Brian Barrio, Athletic Director of the University of Maryland, Baltimore Country from 2020-2024, is suing the university in U.S. district court in Maryland, claiming he was fired unlawfully and was wrongly blamed for a U.S. Department of Justice Investigation into Title IX claims and the sexual misconduct of the school’s former swim coach.
Barrio claims that he identified and reported the abuse by former swim coach Chad Cradock, and he was unfairly blamed and fired after the Justice Department investigation.
Barrio joined UMBC in January 2020 and says he asked about UMBC’s Title IX compliance as well as analyzed UMBC’s athletic program during interviews. Barrio asked about recent Title IX investigations against UMBC baseball players accused of rape, who then sued the university after the investigation was completed. Barrio was assured that the case was handled, and the “Retriever Courage Project had been launched with the intent of teaming students, faculty, and administrators together to improve and enhance all Title IX processes.” The lawsuit states that a vice president at the university at the time, Lynne Schaeffer, told Barrio during the hiring process that the university was leading a “new focus on Title IX issues.” Other high-ranking UMBC officials, Senior Associate Athletic Director Gary Wohlstetter, Associate Vice President Valerie Thomas, and the university’s general counsel staff attorneys, also confirmed their proper handling of Title IX to Barrio.
Barrio also specifically asked about Coach Cradock during his interviews and was told he was “an important and respected leader on campus.” In reality, the Justice Department’s findings found that UMBC officials failed to respond to allegations against Cradock dating back to 2015, including allegations of filming students when showering and inappropriately touching male swimmers. Cradock also failed to report violence by male swimmers against female swimmers spanning from 2016 to 2020. Barrio’s lawyers said in the court filings, “Had UMBC been even remotely truthful regarding Cradock and the allegations that had been made (and covered up) about him, Brian would not have even considered UMBC.”
Cradock died by suicide in 2021, months after resigning in disgrace during the investigation into his conduct.
Barrio’s lawyers claim the investigation into Cradock would’ve never occurred without the aid from Barrio saying, “Brian was responsible for ‘blowing the whistle’ on Coach Cradock and bringing an end to the abuse he had forced on countless UMBC student-athletes that were entrusted to his care and oversight… if not for the actions of Brian, the abuse and assaults would have continued unabated.” Barrio suspended Cradock for COVID-19 violations early into his Athletic Director tenure, which he attests inspired athletes to speak up to Barrio about Cradock’s other violations.
The Baltimore Sun made contact with a former swimmer, identified as K, under Coach Cradock. K told the Sun that he felt it was “perplexing” that Barrio was being pushed out because of the Justice Department finding, stating further, “It feels like they’re just doing it to save face… I don’t know if they’re getting rid of the right administration. I think there were probably people who knew more and were more responsible.”
The complaint also states that Barrio rejected an opportunity at “a prestigious institution with a better-founded athletic program” in February on the promise that university president Valerie Sheares would extend his contract.
However, just weeks later, in March, when the Justice Department report was released, UMBC fired Barrio in the fallout, despite Barrio saying the report cleared him of any wrongdoing. Barrio requested that UMBC put out a statement exonerating Barrio or separating him from the report, but the university rejected it.
The overall premise of Barrio’s lawsuit is the university retaliated against him for Coach Cradock’s misconduct and kept him from accepting another job offer with false promises. Barrio seeks monetary damages in the suit for “past and future wages and benefits,” compensatory mental anguish, and emotional distress damages, but no specific amount was listed. Barrio’s lawyers said in the complaint, “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… 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.”
In April, UMBC and the Justice Department entered into a settlement worth a total of $4.1 million dollars, paying former swimmers sexually assaulted by Cradock or affected by dating violence that failed to be reported $180,000 each. Swimmers who experienced sexual discrimination are entitled to $60,000 each. Six former swimmers rejected the settlement and have chosen to take the case to court separately.
Spears is a junior Sport Management major at UT Austin. He is currently an analytics intern with the Texas Longhorns baseball team and plans to pursue a career in sports law.
