Former UMBC athletic director sues, says he was fired and ‘scapegoated’ for swim coach’s misconduct

Former University of Maryland, Baltimore County athletic director Brian Barrio has sued the school in federal court, claiming he was unlawfully fired and blamed for an ex-swim coach’s sexual misconduct and a U.S. Department of Justice investigation that found UMBC failed to protect student-athletes.

The lawsuit sheds light on Barrio’s departure in April after more than four years on the job. Barrio says that although he helped identify and report abuse by the late swim coach Chad Cradock, he was “scapegoated” and forced out after the Justice Department investigation.

“There is little Brian will be able to do to get his career back on track at all, let alone back to where he would have been without these actions by UMBC,” Barrio’s lawyers wrote in the complaint, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Maryland. “Scapegoated by UMBC and connected to the Cradock/UMBC debacle, Brian is unemployed, effectively unhirable and his reputation, job prospects, and future opportunities have been forever impaired and tarnished.”

A UMBC spokesperson said the university does not comment on pending litigation.

Barrio joined the university in January 2020, nearly a year before UMBC was notified of a Justice Department investigation into the school’s compliance with federal Title IX rules barring gender discrimination.

The investigation concluded in March that UMBC failed to oversee its athletics department properly or devote enough resources to Title IX compliance, allowing Cradock to harass male swimmers and discriminate against female swimmers for years.

Cradock died by suicide in 2021, months after he resigned amid a university investigation into his conduct.

Barrio’s lawsuit claims that he carefully assessed UMBC’s athletic program and asked questions about Title IX compliance during his interviews for the athletic director job. (UMBC had faced scrutiny over its handling of sexual assaults and other Title IX issues.)

Barrio asked specifically about Cradock, who was both a swim coach and the associate athletic director for aquatics, according to the lawsuit. His suit claims that UMBC officials told Barrio that Cradock was “an important and respected leader” on campus. Barrio took the job.

“Had UMBC been even remotely truthful regarding Cradock and the allegations that had been made (and covered up) about him, Brian would not have even considered UMBC,” Barrio’s lawyers wrote.

A few months into the job, Barrio suspended Cradock for violations of the university’s coronavirus protocols. Members of the swim team then began coming forward to report sexually abusive behavior by Cradock, according to the lawsuit.

“Brian was responsible for ‘blowing the whistle’ on Coach Craddock and bringing an end to the abuse he had forced on countless UMBC student athletes that were entrusted to his care and oversight,” the complaint claims. “If not for the actions of Brian, the abuse and assaults would have continued unabated.”

K, a male former UMBC swimmer, told The Baltimore Sun in April that Barrios was part of why he felt safe reporting Cradock’s behavior in November 2020. K agreed to be identified by his first initial.

At the time, K said he didn’t know why Barrio and UMBC were parting ways, but he said if Barrios was being pushed out because of the Justice Department’s findings, he found that “perplexing.”

“It feels like they’re just doing it to save face,” K said. “I don’t know if they’re getting rid of the right administration. I think there were probably people who knew more and were more responsible.”

Barrio’s lawsuit claims he was distressed by the findings in the Justice Department report, which concluded UMBC officials knew about allegations against Cradock for several years but failed to address the problem.

According to the complaint, Barrio also turned down an opportunity at a “prestigious institution with a better funded Athletic Department” in February based on a promise from UMBC President Valerie Sheares Ashby that the university would extend his contract.

Weeks later, amid the fallout from the federal investigation, UMBC fired Barrio, according to his lawsuit. The university put out a statement indicating that “those who were identified as failing to comply with their Title IX obligations — whether through action or inaction — will be held accountable.”

UMBC rejected a request to put out another statement exonerating Barrio or separating him from the Justice Department report’s findings, according to his lawsuit.

“Brian should have been applauded for his actions in quickly taking steps to remove Cradock from being in a position to continue with his physical and mental abuse, and for getting the Athletics Department back on track in the aftermath of Craddock and the cover up,” his lawyers wrote. “Instead, he was fired and linked to the abuse and misconduct by Sheares Ashby and UMBC.”

The five-count lawsuit alleges UMBC made intentional misrepresentations to get Barrio to take the athletic director job and retaliated against him for reporting Cradock’s misconduct. Barrio is seeking monetary damages, but no amount was specified.

The university will have an opportunity to respond to the claims in court.

The Justice Department investigation determined that officials at UMBC failed to respond to allegations against Cradock that began as early as 2015, including claims that Cradock filmed students while they were showering and that he touched male swimmers on the pool deck and in the locker room.

Student-athletes told investigators that Cradock’s inappropriate touching and other behavior was widely known, both among swimmers and athletic department staff. The investigation also found that Cradock and other members of the athletic department failed to report dating violence by male swimmers against female teammates from 2016 to 2020.

In April, the university and the Justice Department entered into a settlement that required UMBC to pay members of the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams who suffered sexual assault or discrimination.

Under the $4.1 million settlement, former swimmers who were sexually assaulted by Cradock or subjected to dating violence that the coaching staff failed to respond to were eligible for $180,000. The university also agreed to pay $60,000 to student-athletes who experienced sexual discrimination.

UMBC also promised to strengthen its Title IX compliance office and provide more support to student-athletes and athletics staff, among other changes.

Six former swimmers who are suing the university rejected the settlement deal earlier this year, choosing instead to pursue their claims in court.