By Jarra Gojolo — Senior Content Editor
Former San Jose State Deputy Athletic Director Steve O’Brien filed a tort claim notice with the California State University System last month over claims of unlawful termination.
SJSU president Mary Papazian, Athletic Director Marie Tuite, Senior Associate Vice President for Personnel Joanne Wright and Senior Associate AD Eileen Daley were all named in the claim, which was first reported by USA Today.
The claim alleges O’Brien was fired in retaliation for refusing to discipline SJSU swimming and diving coach Sage Hopkins and Senior Associate AD for Compliance David Rasmussen. O’Brien also viewed disciplinary action against the two as retaliatory for adhering to NCAA rules.
Hopkins is at the heart of SJSU’s reopened Title IX investigation involving recently resigned athletic trainer Scott Shaw. The claim alleges SJSU’s failures to address student-athlete concerns, and an attempt by SJSU Athletics to interfere in the CSU System’s ongoing investigation.
After learning of a Hopkins email criticizing Tuite and Daley for covering up alleged abuse by Shaw, the former ordered O’Brien to discipline Hopkins for “‘aggression’ against Daley,” according to the notice.
Hopkins’ discipline — which includes a no-contact order on Daley’s behalf and the issuance of a Letter of Concern — couldn’t be administered by Tuite because the investigation would present a conflict of interest. So she allegedly delegated it to O’Brien.
Regarding Rasmussen, the claim states Tuite asked O’Brien to investigate him, then discipline him regarding the Athletics Compliance staff’s disclosure of violations to the NCAA. The disclosure was in response to the Athletics Compliance office learning of a student-athlete who unlawfully gambled on professional and collegiate sports.
In January 2020 Rasmussen found suspicion to subject a SJSU football player and multiple swimmers to drug tests. After intervention by head football coach Brent Brennan, Tuite allegedly accused Rasmussen and O’Brien of racially profiling the football player, and told the trainer conducting the drug tests to withhold the player’s results.
O’Brien has “suffer[ed] severe professional reputational harm and has suffered emotionally as a direct and legal result of defendants’ wrongful conduct,” according to the report. It also says his firing has resulted in continued “substantial financial loss[es] far in excess of $25,000.”
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