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WLKY's Fred Cowgill sues Trinity High School over injury suffered covering football game

brooks holton, louisville courier journal
·4 min read
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Fred Cowgill, who has spent more than three decades as WLKY's sports director, is suing Trinity High School over an injury he sustained while covering the Shamrocks' first football game of the 2021 season from the sideline.

Cowgill, 64, suffered a multi-ligamentous injury to his left knee, including a dislocated patella, during Trinity's game against Indiana's Carmel High School on Aug. 20, 2021, at Marshall Stadium in St. Matthews, according to a lawsuit his attorney filed Monday in Jefferson Circuit Court.

The veteran sports journalist was filming video on the sideline when Trinity running back Armon Tucker was forced out of bounds at the 1-yard line and crashed into him.

"I've danced around a lot of those, and the odds were against me after 36 years, I guess," Cowgill told the Courier Journal in an Aug. 21, 2021 story about the incident. "At least I got hit by one of the best (Tucker). At 63, I’m pretty nimble on my feet. But I hesitated for a second, and that’s what got me."

WLKY's Fred Cowgill waves to the crowd after leaving the field on a stretcher. He was hit by a player while standing on the sidelines while covering the game. August 20, 2021
WLKY's Fred Cowgill waves to the crowd after leaving the field on a stretcher. He was hit by a player while standing on the sidelines while covering the game. August 20, 2021

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Cowgill's attorney, J. Gregory Joyner, argues Trinity "failed to make its premises safe," according to the lawsuit, and failed to warn Cowgill that the sideline was "over-crowded and unsafe for him to enter" to perform his job.

Trinity President Dr. Robert Mullen declined to comment on the lawsuit when contacted by phone.

According to a report from WLKY, Cowgill underwent surgery to repair the knee injury in November and missed approximately 17 weeks of work. The lawsuit says he "lost functional ability to his leg and body as a whole, impairing his ability to earn money now and in the future."

WLKY Sports Director Fred Cowgill gives his picks for the 147th running of the Kentucky Derby on Tuesday, April 27, 2021, at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. Cowgill began working at WLKY during the 1980s.
WLKY Sports Director Fred Cowgill gives his picks for the 147th running of the Kentucky Derby on Tuesday, April 27, 2021, at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. Cowgill began working at WLKY during the 1980s.

"He has endured extreme pain and suffering in the past as well as the present," the lawsuit says, "and he will continue to endure pain and suffering in the future as he attempts to recover from his injuries."

In its story, WLKY said it is not an involved party in Cowgill's "personal legal matter." The sports director has said he will not comment on the pending litigation, according to the station's report.

Cowgill's lawsuit argues Trinity, considering the high-profile Week 1 matchup, "knew, or should have known" the dimensions of Marshall Stadium "were not constructed and/or designed to safely accommodate" Cowgill and other journalists covering the game from the sidelines.

Carmel allegedly had more than 100 players and/or coaches on the visitor's sideline, where Cowgill was filming, according to the lawsuit. Additional individuals in the area included journalists, officials, members of the chain crew and "other on-lookers, who had also gained admission to the sidelines."

The Trinity student section during the Trinity-Carmel season opening game on Aug. 20, 2021.
The Trinity student section during the Trinity-Carmel season opening game on Aug. 20, 2021.

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The setup, the lawsuit alleges, left "little, if any, room for a reporter, situated as was Cowgill, to escape athletes who were engaged in playing the game as they ran at full speed toward the sidelines during the course of play."

"It also appears that THS (Trinity High School) took little, if any, precautions to limit the number of people who had access to the sidelines," the lawsuit says. "(Cowgill) was freely admitted onto the sidelines and is unaware that any other person that he saw on the evening in question, was awarded a 'field pass' by THS, which would be reasonably necessary to prevent overcrowding of the area, a safety precaution that was solely within the discretion and judgment of THS."

Cowgill is suing for a jury trial, for his court costs to be covered and for "any and all other relief to which he may appear entitled," according to the lawsuit, which you can read in full below:

Reach recruiting and trending sports reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @brooksHolton.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: WLKY's Fred Cowgill sues Trinity High School over knee injury