Former St. Joe’s basketball player sues over injury

FARMINGTON (AP) – A former basketball player has sued the trustees and coach of St. Joseph’s College, claiming he suffered permanent knee damage because he was forced to play despite injuries.

Paul E. Searles also alleges that the coach, Rick Simonds, threatened him and tried to ostracize him from the rest of the team after Searles looked into the possibility of a transfer to another college.

The suit, filed in Franklin County Superior Court, accuses the defendants of breach of contract, negligence and infliction of emotional distress. It seeks coverage of more than $5,000 in unpaid medical bills, payment of future medical expenses and unspecified punitive damages.

The Standish college, a perennial Maine and NAIA basketball power, said it has reviewed the complaint and denies the allegations.

“The college intends to defend itself vigorously,” said spokesman Dan Davidson.

Searles, who dropped out of college in his junior year and now works in a grocery store, was a highly recruited 6-foot-6 center at Mount Blue High School in Farmington before he decided to play for the Monks in 1988.

He claimed in the lawsuit that his medical problems developed during his freshman year when he developed tendinitis in both knees and required medical attention and physical therapy on a daily basis.

Despite medical advice and information indicating that Searles should not be playing, Simonds insisted that Searles play, the suit alleged.

“They used him like a racehorse,” said his lawyer, Ronald J. Cullenberg.

Searles underwent arthroscopic surgery for removal of inflamed material from both knees, according to the lawsuit. Because of permanent knee problems, his doctors say he has an 8 percent permanent impairment of “total body function.”

The suit also alleged that St. Joseph’s has paid only a portion of Searles’ basketball-related medical costs, in violation of an oral contractual agreement it made with him to provide full coverage.