A Kiwi footballer alleges she was bullied and prescribed addictive pain medication while attending a Division One College in Dallas, Texas on a scholarship. She claims a knee injury was made considerably worse when a coach deliberately trod on her leg in training.
Six months into her freshman year, Tricia, whose name has been altered to protect her identity, performed isolated lunges with her team in a circle on the pitch. She was easing into the exercise, recovering from a recently operated ruptured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her left knee, which she had injured during her third week at the school.
Suddenly, one of the coaching staff allegedly approached her from behind and stomped on the back of her injured knee, causing her to collapse to the ground.
“It gave me the most severe pain and shock,” she told the Herald. “I instantly stood up and I looked at him and I said ‘[coach] I can’t do that yet’ and he goes ‘it’s not good enough, do better’.
“I looked across the circle and the girls' jaws had dropped – they couldn’t believe what just happened.”
Starting to integrate back into light training, she had allegedly been reassured by team staff she was welcome to partake in sessions to a level she was capable of throughout her recovery.
Tricia was unable to perform the isolated lunges to full depth given where she was at in her recovery, the levels of pain and the restrictions on her knee. Tricia said she felt completely unprotected by staff, given that they knew what stage she was at throughout her recovery.
The Kiwi footballer's knee injury was treated far better in New Zealand than how it was at a Texas college.
The alleged assault was a breaking point for the 19-year-old after she had reportedly been put through months of questionable rehab, been bullied and prescribed addictive pain medication.
“I can never trust these people who are working with my body,” Tricia reflected on her 16-month ordeal. “They owned me.”
“I had a sense that [playing in America] would be tough. What I didn’t anticipate, however, was the lack of knowledge and genuine care when it came to handling medical issues – especially in such a high-performance environment.”
The Auckland-raised student is speaking out on her college experience to help bring awareness about some of the realities young Kiwi athletes may face in America.
Tricia told the Herald that the initial response from the school’s doctors and physiotherapists regarding her ACL was appropriate. She underwent an immediate successful surgery and was reassured by the head coach she would be supported throughout the approximately 12-month recovery period.
After the surgery, however, Tricia was allegedly rushed into a “by the book” rehab programme early post-op where exercises weren’t necessarily catered to her specific case and pain.
“It hurt so bad I knew something was going on,” Tricia said, as her constant pleas' around her levels of pain were allegedly being ignored.
“I was starting to develop this knee pain in this one particular spot underneath my kneecap, it was super tender.
“I talked to the other girl, from my team that had done her ACL eight months before me but she still wasn’t back [playing] yet. She ended up fracturing her kneecap in the middle of rehab because they were pushing it too hard.”
She said she had developed a rash across her body which she believed was caused by a combination of stress and the consumption of multiple medications.
A stress rash developed over her body after ACL rehab at a Division One Texas College.
Tricia said the type of pain that she was suffering was unusual, compared with the experience she gained rehabbing theright ACL that she had previously injured.
“I needed to trust what I know and it wasn’t feeling the same, so I would tell them ‘look, I can’t do [these exercises], it hurts' and they said ‘[you] need to push through it, you have to do it’.
“I would be balling in the middle of the freaking [school’s] rehab department in front of all the athletes trying to do a single leg squat to a box.”
On another occasion, following her operation, Tricia was prescribed approximately a month’s supply of oxycodone, an addictive painkiller, but allegedly, the school’s pharmacists miscounted her dosage, leaving her short for the weekend.
With the school pharmacy closed, she was allegedly given a prescription for Tramadol to collect from the American pharmacy chain, CVS. Consuming both painkillers within days of each other, Tricia said she suffered a seizure in the shower and was rushed to the hospital.
Having eventually recovered from the seizure, Tricia still had severe and unusual knee pain six months post-op when she returned to Auckland for Christmas break.
During her visit home, Tricia sought advice from a Kiwi physiotherapist and trainer to New Zealand Olympians.
His assessment suggested the existing rehab exercises were potentially worsening the injury
“The exercise programme was too focussed on the anterior chain, which in my opinion, was creating compression and pain. She needed more focus on the posterior chain,” the physio said in his injury report.
He allegedly wrote a letter back to the school after the Christmas break however, Tricia said the athletic team and physio ignored the advice and doubled down on the existing approach.
Tricia said she struggled with anxiety after the incident that occurred and was going to have to miss a training session to attend a consultation with an on-campus psychologist. Tricia previously had allegedly never missed a single team commitment, even though she had been injured.
After informing three staff members she would have to skip the session due to a headache and nausea, her trainer responded with three messages that included: “You don’t get to decide if you’re not going to practice. All of this is in your handbook to review.”
After eventually hearing more of the stomping incident the coach arranged a Zoom meeting with Tricia and her parents allegedly saying he would have to take it to a higher authority. Tricia’s pain was also taken more seriously at this point as the school’s surgeon ordered urgent MRI scans for her knee.
She was allegedly told by the surgeon that results showed she had acute patella tendonitis and bone swelling in and around the joint, and if she proceeded with the current rehabilitation practices she may face never being able to play football again.
Despite the results, the school allegedly maintained their rehab process was appropriate and denied all allegations of the assault.
Her parents sought legal advice following the incident and the entire treatment, filing official complaints to the school and local police.
Their lawyer said in a letter to the school, that her “rehabilitation process was below the standard of care”.
“An incident like this cannot go unnoticed by [the school] and is actionable. It represents an assault, the unjustifiable use of force, an unwanted touching of an athlete and in this case contributed to the exacerbation of [Tricia’s] injury.”
Given the expenses incurred by Tricia’s family as they travelled back and forth to the United States to care for her during this time, the emotional and physical trauma and continued medical care to this day, the family asked for financial compensation.
The college’s general counsel responded four months after the lawyer sent the initial letter.
“The rehabilitation records indicate that when [Tricia] reported pain during rehab, the treatment was modified to avoid painful exercises
“Patellar tendonitis is common, if not expected, when recovering from the type of surgery [Tricia] underwent, as a portion of the patellar tendon was harvested for use in reconstructing the ACL. [The surgeon’s] records note that “often at this period of time Patella tendon problems will be resolving”.
“There is nothing about the information you provided or the records I reviewed that demonstrates a departure from the standard of care or that the care [Tricia] received from [the school’s] employees caused her injury or harm.”
The response continued saying the coach denied that he made any contact with the back of Tricia’s knee and her athletic trainer denied observing any contact.
“No other players or staff have corroborated [Tricia’s] account of the encounter with [the coach].
“I understand that the family is not satisfied or pleased with the coach’s response or [Tricia’s] experience at [the school]. But I do not understand how those interactions breached any legal duty or caused Tricia any cognisable harm,” they said.
The Herald understands the player received written support and statements from some teammates acknowledging how the incident played out. However, Tricia said players never officially reported it to the school because they were fearful of their place in the programme, which Tricia respected.
Following this response, Tricia and her family decided not to pursue any further investigation as the legal help was too expensive.
Tricia officially withdrew from the programme seven months after she started being “devastated” and “petrified”.
She packed up her gear and pulled down her name tag from the locker room and told the coach to his face “I can’t be a part of this programme any more, I’ve been lied to, I’ve got no trust in anyone here, I don’t agree with thefear-based programme and I want nothing to do with it.”
While Tricia waits to return to the field, she has turned her attention to a different sport to fulfil her dream of competing at the highest level – one that puts less strain on her knee, which still causes her pain.
Back in New Zealand, the now 20-year-old has taken up kayaking on Auckland’s North Shore and competed at this April’s nationals.
She said kayaking has been “the best thing that could have happened for me, mentally and physically. Obviously, it’s a very humbling sport but honestly such a good challenge.”
Tricia hopes Kiwi athletes considering the US College System as a pathway in their sporting career will enter the experience with“strong self-awareness”.
“While American college athletics offer incredible opportunities, they also come with challenges you may not expect. Be prepared to advocate for your health – both physically and mentally – because you might not always receive the care you deserve.”
The Dallas college has been approached for comment.
Bonnie Jansen is a multimedia journalist in the NZME sports team. She’s a football commentator and co-host of the Football Feverpodcast, and was part of the Te Rito cadetship scheme before becoming a fulltime journalist.
