Four high school girls say in a federal lawsuit that a former Mt. Lebanon School District volleyball coach subjected them to “unwanted conduct of a sexual nature” and that the district ignored warnings about him before he was hired last year.
In a complaint filed Monday, the girls and their parents say Brian Begor touched the players inappropriately, videotaped them wrestling, gave them sexually suggestive names and grabbed his crotch in their presence.
The suit also says that Mr. Begor had been removed as coach of the Pittsburgh Golden Triangles club team in 1995 for inappropriate contact with two Mt. Lebanon volleyball players but that the school district hired him despite knowing about those allegations.
Mr. Begor, who was never charged with a crime, was hired at Mt. Lebanon last April and resigned in November. He had been the coach at West Allegheny High.
Before he was hired at Mt. Lebanon, the suit says, former players, coaches and parents told the athletic director, John Grogan, about the 1995 incidents and warned him not to hire Mr. Begor.
After the district did hire him, according to the complaint, he began sexually suggestive behavior.
“Begor’s conduct was severe and it was pervasive because it occurred nearly every day and because it was harmful,” the suit says.
The plaintiffs and their lawyer, Sam Cordes, filed the complaint under Title IX, the federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in educational programs.
Mr. Cordes said that school districts have an obligation under the law to prevent the type of conduct allegedly displayed by Mr. Begor and that Mt. Lebanon failed in that duty.
In addition to asking for an injunction to stop Mr. Begor from any future discrimination, the girls and their parents are asking for unspecified damages for emotional distress.
Mr. Begor could not be reached for comment.
In a response Monday, the school district said that after the volleyball season ended in October, some players complained about the coach and the administration investigated and called police.
Mt. Lebanon police Lt. Duane Fisher confirmed Monday night that the police department investigated the allegations made by two girls against Mr. Begor last fall and “did not find any action or information that indicated the presence of criminal activity.”
The lieutenant said police requested that the high school principal send letters to the families of girls on the volleyball team seeking information about any suspicious activity involving Mr. Begor. They did not receive any further complaints.
The district suspended Mr. Begor on Nov. 6 and ordered that he have no contact with volleyball players. He resigned Nov. 10.
The district said that Mr. Begor’s federal and state criminal records showed “no violations of any kind” and that he was coaching in another district when Mt. Lebanon hired him. The district also said that no players complained about Mr. Begor during the season but raised their issues about him after it was over.
Torsten Ove: tove@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1504.
First Published: April 25, 2016, 4:31 p.m.
Updated: April 26, 2016, 4:30 a.m.
