Family of the young football player assaulted by fellow teammates at Woburn Memorial High School in 2021 has filed a federal lawsuit against city and school officials. Jeanny and Kevin Coucelos allege that these officials not only condoned a toxic culture within the football program that encouraged bullying and aggression, but also failed in their response to the disturbing incident involving their son, Johnathan Coucelos, who was just 14 years old at the time according to The Boston Globe. The couple seeks $750,000 in damages as per CBS Boston.
In September 2021, Johnathan Coucelos, a freshman on the Woburn High School football team, was violently attacked in the school locker room by multiple older players. He claims to have been indecently assaulted and groped during the encounter, an allegation that is supported by video evidence, which circulated on social media soon after the event. While seven students faced criminal charges related to the alleged attack, there remains a glaring lack of consequences for the adults who oversaw the program. With this lawsuit, the Coucelos family intends to hold these officials accountable for their actions, or lack thereof.
Despite the ongoing case, Woburn's head football coach Jack Belcher and athletic director Jim Duran continue their professional duties, insisting they were not present during the episode. Specialists in student-athlete safety argue that both individuals share responsibility for the protection and well-being of their players, and it is their duty to prevent violent hazing practices like those experienced by Johnathan Coucelos. In addition to Belcher and Duran, several other figures, including Woburn Schools Superintendent Matthew Crowley and the Woburn School Committee, have been named as defendants in the lawsuit.
Notably, a federally mandated Title IX review, as reported by The Boston Globe, revealed that both head freshman coach Chris Scichilone and volunteer assistant coach Chase Andrews admitted to not having received formal hazing training before the assault on Johnathan Coucelos. It can be inferred that the inadequate preparedness of the coaching staff may have contributed to the unchecked spread of a malicious locker room environment.
While Woburn officials commissioned an independent investigation of the case by former state secretary of public safety Daniel Bennett, they have denied public access to Bennett's final report. Instead, Superintendent Crowley released a statement claiming that the study found that "the district generally had proper policies and procedures in place and timely responded to the incident."
The lawsuit also exposes two other instances allegedly developing inside Belcher's program. One player reported that coach Belcher failed to act after witnessing an older teammate violently kick a younger player in the head, causing them to fall violently ill. Another individual, who graduated in 2021, claimed that as a freshman, he experienced frequent bullying and beating at the hands of his fellow team members according to The Boston Globe.
Johnathan Coucelos' life has been irrevocably altered by the traumatic experiences; he has since withdrawn from Woburn Memorial High School, He has been diagnosed with depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder, and continues to attempt to piece together the shattered semblances of his youth.
