• A new federal lawsuit alleges sexual abuse by multiple cheerleading coaches in South Carolina, including the late Rockstar Cheer founder Scott Foster.
  • Foster solicited sex and explicit photographs from athletes under his care, the lawsuit, filed on Thursday in Greenville, says.
  • The Thursday complaint is the second lawsuit to level allegations of misconduct against Foster and Rockstar Cheer in three days.

GREENVILLE, S.C. – Multiple cheerleading coaches have been accused of a wide range of misconduct and illicit sexual behavior with minors in a new federal lawsuit filed in South Carolina.

Among the coaches is Rockstar Cheer founder Scott Foster, who died by suicide last week. Foster is accused of soliciting sex and explicit photographs from athletes under his care. However his behavior, the lawsuit alleges, is a symptom of a much wider problem.

The suit, filed Thursday in Greenville, South Carolina, names several defendants – including Foster’s estate, his widow Kathy Foster, Rockstar Cheer and Dance Inc., national cheerleading organizations, the United States All Star Federation and Varsity Spirit LLC, and corporate entities Charlesbank Capital Partners and Bain Capital. According to the lawsuit, Bain bought Varsity Spirit from Charlesbank in 2018.

In over 44 pages, the complaint, filed on behalf of six anonymous plaintiffs by attorneys from Strom Law Firm, details an exploitative system with little accountability that “created, organized and propagated a system of young-athlete abuse against innocent victims.” 

Investigations:Inside the USA TODAY investigation into cheerleading industry and Jerry Harris’ crimes  

What is alleged in the new lawsuit?

“This was a factory of abuse designed specifically to generate two things: a constant supply of underage victims for Scott Foster and his fellow predators and a billion dollar revenue stream to Varsity Spirit, USASF and Bain Capital,” said Strom attorney Bakari Sellers. “Instead of protecting these young men and women, they victimized them and cashed their checks.”

The lawsuit names nine counts of action, including gross negligence, negligent supervision, assault and battery and “racketeering activity,” among others. 

The complaint also contains graphic allegations of “child sexual exploitation” by Foster and other coaches, including rape, the provision of drugs and alcohol to underage athletes, and the creation and dissemination of “obscene materials involving minors,” both male and female. 

Backstory:‘Cheer’ deals with Jerry Harris’ arrest, but it was USA TODAY reporters who exposed the sport’s problem. Here’s how.