EVANSTON, IL — A former Northwestern University cheerleader dropped her sex trafficking and forced labor lawsuit against the university and several of its former staffers, just ahead of key deadlines in the discovery process and shortly after switching attorneys.
Attorneys for one of the defendants say no settlement was reached to resolve her federal suit. So why was it dismissed? Here’s what court filings show.
Hayden Richardson, a former cheerleader from 2018 to 2020, filed her eight-count complaint in January 2021, alleging she and other members of the cheerleading team had been sexually harassed and groped by fans and alumni at university events.
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Accusing them of forming a “venture” with the university to increase contributions from donors, the lawsuit named former cheerleading coach Pam Bonnevier, former Athletics Director Mike Polisky, former Associate Athletic Director for Marketing Heather Obering and former Associate Equity and Title IX Compliance Director Amanda DaSilva as defendants.
“The venture collectively received a financial benefit as a result of the sexual exploitation it subjected Northwestern cheerleaders to in the form of large alumni donations which funded Northwestern athletics and subsequently Defendants’ salaries,” the complaint alleged.
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With its allegations that administrators knowingly “defiled its cheerleaders and encouraged them to be temptresses and courtesans,” and that Northwestern “forced its cheerleaders to behave in a degrading and demeaning manner intended to entice and captivate wealthy donors,” the suit generated extensive media attention, as has its unexplained dismissal.
The case was the subject of Richardson’s undergraduate honors thesis research project in the department of political science, “Cheerleading at Northwestern University: A Case Study of Institutional Failure.”
Attorneys for the university and its former staffers filed motions to dismiss Richardson’s suit.
Last September, U.S. District Judge Edmond Chang allowed all but two counts of the complaint to continue.
For the purposes of determining whether to grant a motion to dismiss a complaint, all of its claims are assumed to be true.
Chang found that the complaint had plausibly alleged a groping-for-donation exchange, that based on the instructions given to the Spirit Squad, “the reasonable inference is that the fans and donors were allowed to engage in sex acts with the cheerleaders in exchange for the fans’ and donors’ financial support of the Athletics Department and the University.”
After the judge allowed the case to proceed, attorneys for the defendants asked Richardson for documents and information for, among other things, materials from her senior thesis as part of the discovery process.
According to attorneys for the former athletic director, it took more than eight months for any progress in discovery, and Richardson delayed any review of electronically stored information until after they filed a motion to get a judge to compel her to do so in June.
On July 1, Richardson informed the defendants in the case that her laptop, which contained audio recordings from her thesis project, had been destroyed in June 2023 — more than a year earlier and two and a half years after filing her suit.
“[Richardson] informed Defendants that after her laptop and drive were purportedly destroyed, she threw them away,” according to attorney Bethany Biesenthal, one of Polisky’s attorneys. “These audio recordings recount the interviews that [she] conducted with other members of the Spirit Squad and are the lone pieces of data that Plaintiff collected in connection with her senior thesis. The recordings are critical pieces of evidence in this matter and those produced thus far refute the allegations made in her Complaint and thesis.”
Chang held a hearing on July 23 and issued a new set of deadlines, which called for Richardson to disclose any remaining audio recordings by July 31 and release documents to defendants every Monday in August, and to turn over treatment records by Aug. 14.
On Aug. 15, Richardson filed a motion to substitute out her attorneys from the New York firm Nesenoff & Miltenberg and replace them with lawyers from Chicago-based Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard.
“What I hoped would [be] a straightforward process for substitution has unfortunately become a contested issue,” said attorney Lance Northcutt, of Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard.
“Two of the defendants in the litigation are actually objecting to our substituting in the case unless we commit to a series of deadlines — before we even take possession of the file,” Northcutt said, referring to attorneys for Northwestern and its former athletic director and the deadlines that resulted from their motions to compel Richardson to comply with discovery.
“I trust this is being done as a power move to pressure our client into being in a more vulnerable position as we approach the mediation,” said Northcutt, who said he unsure if they would continue with mediation scheduled for September.
Last week, Chang held a hearing on Richardson’s request to swap out attorneys. The judge allowed the new Chicago-based lawyers to represent her in the case but kept the previously ordered discovery schedule in place.
“All agreements that were previously made, with [Nesenoff & Miltenberg] are binding unless new counsel from [Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard] believes that the agreement violates a rule of professional responsibility,” Chang ordered.
“The Plaintiff’s new counsel will respond to Defendant Polisky’s letter, after conferring with Plaintiff’s prior counsel, relating to the destruction of the laptop and hard drive,” the judge also ordered.
Patrick Salvi, Lance Northcutt and Jennifer Cascio of Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard officially took over as Richardson’s attorneys on Wednesday.
On Monday, Northcutt filed paperwork voluntarily withdrawing the case and agreeing never to refile it.
The new attorneys have refused to confirm or deny whether they reached a settlement — or simply dropped the cause because they were unable to meet the court-imposed schedule involving discovery and the destruction of the key piece of evidence.
No settlements were reached with any of the parties involved in the lawsuit, Polisky’s attorneys from the firm Jones Day told ESPN, which first reported the dismissal on Wednesday.
“Since Hayden Richardson’s lawsuit was filed over three years ago, Northwestern has steadfastly maintained that her claims should be dismissed,” a university staffer told the network. “She has now voluntarily dismissed her lawsuit against all defendants.”
The resolution of the Richardson case comes as the university names a new athletic director, builds a new football stadium and concert venue, and fends off lawsuits from its fired ex-football coach Pat Fitzgerald and former players who say they were abused while playing for him.
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