Former Real Salt Lake goalkeeper Jeffrey Dewsnup has hit his old club with a $100 million lawsuit, accusing Real Salt Lake and several former teammates of repeated hazing in the shower and locker-room areas while he was a teenager. The complaint seeks damages for what Dewsnup describes as lasting physical and emotional injuries that have followed him into adulthood and disrupted his playing career, placing the case squarely inside the broader national fight over locker-room culture in elite developmental programs.
What the complaint alleges
According to The Salt Lake Tribune, the lawsuit claims that teammates engaged in hazing in showers and locker rooms and that the club failed to stop the conduct or investigate it properly. The filing names the club and several players as defendants and describes a series of episodes that Dewsnup says were both physically and psychologically damaging. The complaint asks for punitive and compensatory damages that together total roughly $100 million, a figure big enough to command attention across Major League Soccer front offices.
Player history and context
Dewsnup joined the Real Salt Lake system as an academy product and signed with the first team in 2021, according to the club’s roster information. Reporting by KSL notes that he stepped away from professional play in 2023 to address mental-health concerns and turned to music and other pursuits outside soccer. The complaint leans on that background, presenting his age and status as a young player in the club’s pipeline as central to the harm he alleges he suffered while in the organization’s care.
Legal context and recent cases
Utah law prohibits hazing and sets criminal penalties for certain conduct, with anti-hazing provisions codified at Utah Code Section 76-5-107.5. Civil lawsuits over alleged hazing and assault inside team environments have been drawing more attention in recent years, including a high-profile California water-polo case detailed by the Los Angeles Times earlier this year. Together, such filings highlight how legal scrutiny can reach beyond schools to clubs and programs that sit close to the professional ranks.
What could come next
With Dewsnup’s complaint now on file, Real Salt Lake and the other defendants will have a chance to respond in court. The case could be knocked out early through motions or move into a longer haul of discovery and depositions if it proceeds. Large civil claims of this size often trigger settlement talks, but they can also force institutions to revisit how they oversee youth and academy athletes. Regardless of how this particular lawsuit is resolved, it is likely to intensify questions about what safeguards are in place inside the development pipelines that feed MLS clubs.
