Rockstar Cheer scandal: What to know about Scott Foster lawsuits, allegations

The turmoil surrounding Rockstar Cheer and Dance has spiraled further, with new plaintiffs alleging sexual abuse and misconduct by multiple former coaches across three federal lawsuits.

The lawsuits add to two previous complaints alleging drug and alcohol abuse and sexual activity between coaches and their minor athletes within Rockstar, the competitive cheerleading gym based in Greenville County.

In total, five lawsuits accuse former Rockstar employees of misconduct. The first, filed Aug. 31, accuses Rockstar owner and founder Scott Foster of having “persuaded” an unidentified underage girl who trained his gym to have sex with him. The second, amended Sept. 15, makes further allegations against Foster and six additional coaches.

Across the five lawsuits, a total of 13 plaintiffs accuse Foster and the other coaches of a range of misconduct, including rape, providing drugs and alcohol to athletes, groping and inappropriate touching, and the exchange of sexual images. In most instances, the alleged abuse occurred when the anonymous plaintiffs were minors, according to the lawsuits.

In addition, the lawsuits allege institutional failures by national cheerleading organizations responsible for safeguarding the welfare of young athletes.

Those filed by Columbia-based Strom Law Firm — the second, third, fourth and fifth lawsuits — take the argument further, attacking the business model and governance of competitive cheer itself.

Strom has also filed separate lawsuits alleging abuse at cheer gyms in Knoxville, Tennessee, Raleigh, North Carolina, Marietta, Georgia, and South Daytona, Florida. None of the alleged misconduct in the Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia or Florida complaints involved Foster or Rockstar Cheer and Dance.

Foster died by suicide on Aug. 22, according to the Greenville County Coroner's Office.

Rockstar Cheer and Dance announced it would close its doors "indefinitely" on Sept. 7 in a written statement released by Foster's widow, Kathy Foster.

No law enforcement agency has publicly acknowledged an investigation into the accusations.

Here's more to know as the story unfolds:

Who was Scott Foster?

► At the time of his death, Scott Foster was a competitive cheerleading coach of national renown. His training center, Rockstar Cheer, was home to 14 all-star cheerleading teams that have earned medals at some of the most prestigious competitions in the sport. Located in Greer, the gym is referred to as Rockstar Cheer Greenville.

► A native of Kentucky, Foster cheered as a student at the University of Louisville and began coaching in 1996, according to Rockstar's website. He moved to Greenville in 1999 and founded Rockstar Cheer & Dance Inc. in 2007 with his wife, Kathy.

“We weren’t just striving to be the best in our area of South Carolina, we wanted to do something that would be known as one of the best in our industry,” he said on his website. “We wanted Rockstar Cheer to be a family, not just a business.”

► Originally interested in a career in law enforcement, Foster found himself drawn to competitive cheerleading instead, he said.

“I wanted a career doing something I would love each and every day,” he wrote online. “What really drove me was working with young people and making a positive impact on their lives.”

► In addition to his work at Rockstar, Foster coached cheerleading on an advisory basis at high schools in the Upstate.

► Foster, 49, was found dead in his vehicle with a gunshot wound on Aug. 22 at Paris Mountain State Park, according to the Greenville County Coroner’s Office. His death was ruled a suicide.

What is Scott Foster accused of?

► Multiple unidentified plaintiffs in five lawsuits have accused Foster of a range of misconduct toward minors. Thirteen individuals overall have come forward, all anonymously, and more plaintiffs could ultimately join the legal action, lawyers said.

► The first lawsuit alleges Foster sexually abused an unidentified girl after she was promoted to Rockstar's top-tier team. Foster, the complaint says, exchanged sexual messages and images with the child, who remains a minor, and "persuaded" the girl "into performing various sexual acts" with him on at least 10 occasions in Greenville and at competitions.

Foster is also accused of providing alcohol to the minor "in an effort to further persuade" her "to perform sexual acts with him."

The lawsuit was filed jointly by Chappell, Smith & Arden and Bannister, Wyatt & Stalvey.

Allegations: Lawsuit claims Rockstar Cheer founder Scott Foster 'persuaded' girl into sex

More allegations: New Rockstar Cheer lawsuit alleges sexual abuse, attacks competitive cheerleading culture

► The second lawsuit contains similarly graphic allegations of "child sexual exploitation," accusing Foster of exchanging sexual images with female and male minors, providing drugs and alcohol to athletes under his care, and engaging in a sexual relationship with an 18-year-old.

Similarly, the third, fourth and fifth lawsuits, filed in October, allege Foster provided drugs, cigarettes and alcohol to underage athletes and was aware of at least some sexual “relationships” between his coaches and their athletes.  These lawsuits were filed by Strom Law Firm.

► Some of Foster’s alleged victims trained at Rockstar Cheer and Dance in Greer. In other cases, Foster connected with athletes via social media, according to second complaint. In at least one case, the suit claims, this connection led to sexual encounters at multiple competitions.

Who are the other defendants, and what are they accused of?

► The five lawsuits against Rockstar identify multiple defendants. In addition to Scott Foster, the following coaches have been named: Kenny Feeley, Josh Guyton, Nathan Allan Plank, Christopher Hinton, Traevon Black, Peter Holley and Jared Carrubba.

Plank, Hinton, Guyton and Carrubba are alleged to have sent sexually explicit messages and and photos from minors and solicited replies in kind.

Guyton and Hinton are accused of “inappropriate touching” in the gym and elsewhere. Additional allegations against Hinton include “forcibly” kissing a minor and forcing a separate plaintiff to “perform oral sex on him.” Guyton is also alleged to have had sex with a minor on multiple occasions, and to have “sexually assaulted” a separate plaintiff.

Feeley is accused of of sexually abusing an unnamed female plaintiff while working as a coach for Scott Foster. Feeley is also alleged to have raped the same plaintiff at his apartment after supplying her with drugs and alcohol, potentially with Foster’s knowledge.

The alleged abuse occurred while the defendants were coaching athletes at Rockstar, with the exception of Feeley, whose employment situation at the time of the allegations is unclear. All defendants are believed to have left Rockstar before Foster’s death.

► Kathy Foster, Scott Foster's widow, is also named as a defendant in the Strom lawsuits. One plaintiff alleges Kathy Foster was aware that her husband and other coaches provided drugs and alcohol to athletes, and even "encouraged" this behavior "as a way of ensuring that the athletes remained at Rockstar." The same plaintiff accuses Kathy Foster of forcing athletes to undergo "sadistic and brutal conditioning work-outs" when training and performances failed to meet her expectations.

A second plaintiff accuses Kathy Foster of similar abuse, "including withholding water from athletes, excessive physical punishment and conditioning, and verbal abuse," in addition to "bullying and "body-shaming."

► The five lawsuits also name organizations that govern cheerleading nationwide: the United States All Star Federation, a nonprofit governing body for competitive cheerleading, and Varsity Spirit LLC, a governing organization for competitive cheerleading competitions.

The complaints allege failures by Rockstar, USASF and Varsity to protect the athletes under Foster's care.

► The first lawsuit claims Rockstar, USASF and Varsity had received complaints about Foster's "inappropriate behavior" before and during the misconduct toward the plaintiff yet failed to take appropriate action.

► The Strom lawsuits also allege those defendants were aware of "serious and disturbing allegations" against not only Scott Foster but "many of the Varsity coaches." It depicts the coaches’ alleged behavior as a symptom of a much wider problem within competitive cheerleading.

Related coverage: Cheerleading has a list of people banned. It was missing 74 convicted sex offenders

► In addition to Foster's estate, Rockstar Cheer & Dance Inc., USASF, Varsity Spirit, and USA Cheer, the governing body for all disciplines of cheerleading, the Strom lawsuits named as defendants Jeff Webb, Varsity's founder, and corporate entities Charlesbank Capital Partners and Bain Capital.

According to the lawsuits, Bain bought Varsity Spirit from Charlesbank in 2018.

The complaints allege the defendants created and operated an exploitative system with little accountability that “propagated a system of young-athlete abuse against innocent victims.”

► Strom Law Firm has also filed additional lawsuits against Varsity, USASF and Bain, alleging their business model and governance practices enabled abuse at cheer gyms in Knoxville, Tennessee; Raleigh, North Carolina; Marietta, Georgia; and South Daytona, Florida.

The Knoxville suit, filed Sept. 26, accuses a former coach at Premier Athletics of sexual misconduct with underage boys.

The Raleigh suit, filed Oct. 26, accuses multiple coaches at Cheer Extreme Raleigh and Cheer Extreme Kernersville of sexual abuse. A choreographer is also accused of misconduct.

The Marietta suit, filed Nov. 11, accuses a coach at Stingray Allstars of having "raped" an 18-year-old male athlete. The suit alleges additional Stingray coaches were aware of the incident but failed to report or respond appropriately to it.

The most recent suits, filed Nov. 18, allege a coach sexually abused three minor girls at Champion Elite Legacy, a gym in South Daytona, Florida. The suits also accuse Champion Elite's owner of "inaction" and "mishandling" complaints against the coach.

Is law enforcement investigating allegations against Rockstar Cheer?

► No law enforcement agency has publicly acknowledged an investigation into the misconduct described in the complaints.

► However, in a news release on Aug. 24, Storm Law Firm said Foster "was the subject of a multi-jurisdictional investigation being led by the Department of Homeland Security into allegations of sexual misconduct."

The Greenville County Sheriff's Office also told The Greenville News that Homeland Security Investigations had confirmed their investigation with the sheriff.

Reached by The Greenville News, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security would neither confirm nor deny any such investigation.

► Strom attorneys also claimed to have knowledge of a state-level investigation at a press conference but declined to name the agency involved. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division told The Greenville News in October it does not have an active investigation into the case.

► Locally, Rockstar Cheer's Greer location falls within the jurisdiction of the Greenville County Sheriff's Office. The Sheriff’s Office was not actively investigating Foster when he died, according to spokesperson Lt. Ryan Flood, nor has it opened an investigation into the allegations.

“To initiate an investigation we would have to receive a complaint,” Flood told The Greenville News in an email in October. “To this day, nobody has brought forth a complaint to the GCSO.”

Flood also indicated that a local investigation “can run the risk of compromising” ongoing federal investigations, which “regularly result in stiffer penalties and carry more weight than state charges.”

Have Kathy Foster, Scott Foster's estate or Rockstar responded?

► In December, Kathy Foster and Rockstar Cheer as a gym each filed a response to the complaints against them in court.

Foster denied the all the allegations against her, including those of physical abuse and bullying.

Rockstar Cheer also denied the allegations.

► Kathy Foster previously issued a statement emailed to reporters by a representative in September announcing Rockstar Cheer's Greer location would be closing "indefinitely."

► In a prior statement, Foster described herself as "heartbroken" by the allegations and promised to "cooperate with all involved to make sure our athletes learn and grow in a safe environment."

► Of the other coaches accused, two have made public statements through representatives.

Kenny Feeley and his family emailed a statement to reporters through a public-relations firm on Sept. 21.

"Although we have not yet been formally notified, it has come to our attention that Kenny has been named, among others, in a wide-ranging civil lawsuit alleging a past instance of improper conduct, at some point in his career, by an anonymous individual," the statement reads. "We are dismayed and frankly stunned by these accusations, and to be clear, the claim is categorically false.

"As always − we remain steadfast in our convictions as long-standing advocates for greater safety, transparency and protections for all athletes in cheerleading, while we vigorously defend Kenny's reputation against this unsubstantiated claim and related inaccuracies and mistruths."

A spokesperson for Feeley told The Greenville News that Feeley was never employed by Rockstar Cheer or Carolina All-Stars but instead worked as an "outside trainer a handful of times over the past 20 years."

► Josh Guyton reached out to The Greenville News via email through his attorney, William Yarborough, on Oct. 11. In an interview, Yarborough strongly denied all allegations against his client.

“I’m just kind of shocked,” Yarborough said of the allegations against Guyton. “I think this thing was at the top, and this is a young man who’s got a life ahead of him and he’s getting drawn into something that he didn’t have anything to do with.”

Yarborough said Guyton has retained online records of correspondence with parents and athletes proving had “a very good relationship with… the people that (he) coached.”

► Nathan Allan Plank filed a response to the allegations in court on Nov. 21 denying all accusations against him. He also "vehemently" denied ever having worked for Rockstar Cheer.

► Christopher Hinton also filed a response to the allegations in court on Nov. 28. Like Plank, he denied the accusations against him but did not deny having worked at Rockstar.

► None of the other coaches accused have released public statements in response to the allegations. In an exchange with The Greenville News over social media in September, Traevon Black said he was unaware of the allegations. Black subsequently deactivated the social-media account.

► When Scott Foster died, 16 other gyms across the country were using the Rockstar Cheer name and brand through licensing agreements. At least 10 have severed their connection in the wake of the allegations.

"While our tie to Rockstar was always in name only, we are making this switch to clearly and totally disassociate our kids, their parents, and our instructors and staff from any association with behaviors that have absolutely nothing to do with who we are, or how we run our programs," the 10 gyms said through the public relations firm Red Banyan.

Their affiliation, they said, was limited to "sharing the Rockstar brand and name," which "will both be changing, effective immediately."

► None of the Rockstar-affiliate gyms have been named in the lawsuits.

How have USASF, Varsity Spirit and the other defendants responded?

► USASF released a statement on Aug. 30 saying it was “devastated to learn of allegations about potential abuse of All Star athletes in South Carolina and potentially other areas as well.”

The statement said the organization would not comment on specific allegations to “allow law enforcement to appropriately investigate,” and it encouraged anyone with knowledge of wrongdoing to make a report to law enforcement as well as USASF.

► In a statement issued Sept. 1, Varsity Spirit president Bill Seely said his organization is “devastated for anyone who has been impacted by the egregious conduct and violation of trust (Foster’s) alleged behavior represents" and affirmed Varsity's commitment to "athlete safety."

A second statement, released Sept. 19, provided a list of "ways we prioritize safety across our operations."

"Athlete safety is at the forefront of everything we do," Seely said.

► Varsity founder Jeff Webb denied all accusations against him and indicated he would file a motion to dismiss the lawsuit in a statement emailed to The Greenville News on Sept. 21.

Webb expressed support for survivors and called the allegations of sexual abuse "heartbreaking."

► Neither Charlesbank Capital Partners nor Bain Capital have released statements addressing the allegations.

What happens next in the Rockstar Cheer case?

► Further legal action is possible against Foster's estate, Rockstar Cheer, and other gyms and coaches. In addition to those that have already filed, at least one other law firm has announced it is representing victims.

"None of our clients are surprised" by the allegations against Foster, said attorney Peter McGrath of McGrath Law Firm in Mount Pleasant. He said his firm plans to proceed with "some sort of legal action" and expects more people to come forward.

► In the meantime, Strom expects to file “successive cases with more victims” against gyms in California and Maryland, according to attorney Bakari Sellers. None of these lawsuits will accuse Rockstar, though all will name Varsity, USASF, Bain and others involved in cheer's governance and business model as defendants.

Check back for more on this developing story.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Rockstar Cheer closes amid scandal about Scott Foster and accusations