Former Monacan students sue coach, principal

Did Larry Starr physically and verbally abuse his Monacan High School girls basketball players? Did Monacan Principal David Sovine and Athletic Director Pat Ferguson serve as Starr's willing accomplices, to the extent that they either ignored or failed to properly investigate complaints made by players and their parents about the coach's inappropriate behavior?

These are two of the central allegations in a $1 million lawsuit filed last month in Chesterfield County Circuit Court on behalf of former Monacan basketball players Victoya Ricks and Abigail Stenger.

But as the suit meanders along through the county's justice system, not everyone in the court of public opinion is rushing to judge the embattled coach and administrators. In fact, parents of several other Monacan players already have sent letters and e-mails to the school board in support of Starr.

"We all have our faults, but I think he's an upstanding guy," said Tom Rainey, whose daughter, Hope, is a junior guard for the Chiefs. "Larry only wants good things for everybody. Is he hard on the girls? Yes, but that's because he's trying to bring out their best."

The lawsuit paints a much different picture. It claims intentional infliction of emotional distress; negligent infliction of emotional distress; assault; battery; use of insulting and abusive language; defamation; and negligent retention.

It also features several specific allegations against the coach, including:

• Starr "engaged in a continuous series of harassing, abusive, threatening and outrageous actions" directed at the plaintiffs, "which were intended to and did cause severe emotional distress and physical injury."

• Starr singled out Ricks for harassment and unwarranted criticism. He allegedly called her "an alcohol syndrome baby" and regularly subjected the plaintiffs and other members of the team to "a barrage of verbal assaults, insults and threats that included name-calling and profanity."

• Starr's verbal and psychological abuse of Ricks included removing her from the starting lineup because she required the use of an inhaler. On another occasion, Starr forced Ricks to run so much that she collapsed, and he punished her by removing her from the starting lineup.

• During one practice, Starr physically assaulted Stenger by holding her by the neck and instructing another player to punch her.

• Starr has assaulted and intimidated the plaintiffs and other team members and has caused others to assault and batter players on numerous occasions.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs - Ashley Taylor and Curtis Hairston Jr. - failed to return calls from the Chesterfield Observer regarding the lawsuit.

Chesterfield County Public Schools spokesman Shawn Smith said representatives of the school system are unable to comment on pending litigation.

"We're going to be filing some motions in a couple days, but we're not prepared to comment on the lawsuit right now," added county attorney Steven Micas, whose office will defend Starr, Sovine and Ferguson.

The notion of Starr physically assaulting his players doesn't ring true to Michael Silas, father of Monacan's all-Dominion District center Candice Silas. He insists his daughter never said a word about physical abuse and considers it ridiculous to suggest that the players would've conspired to keep such violence a secret.

"I feel like I would've heard something from Candice," Silas added. "She's pretty levelheaded. She knows if she's being wronged."

County officials, including representatives of the social services department, spent the first two days after winter break interviewing members of the basketball team and their parents in an attempt to determine whether there was any validity to the abuse charges against Starr. According to two parents, they found none, and the coach was reinstated to full duty for the remainder of the 2008-09 season.

The lawsuit claims Sovine and Ferguson "have failed and refused to investigate properly the complaints made against Starr or to take the proper action to stop Starr's atrocious behavior."

The plaintiffs claim they left Monacan and enrolled at another school because they weren't protected by administrators.