A former Marquette University student injured during cheerleading tryouts is alleging in a lawsuit that he was required to lift and throw women who were "too heavy," according to court records.
The suit against Marquette, filed by Douglas O'Reilly, alleged that he tried to tell cheerleading coach Jane Vinson-Kafura that he could be injured by lifting and throwing the women, who weighed more than 120 pounds."Kafura . . . instructed him that he had to lift and throw these women," the suit says. O'Reilly did so, and suffered a back injury and back pain, "a severe shock to his nervous system and other serious injuries," the suit says.
The incident occurred in April 1996, according to the suit. O'Reilly, of Long Grove, Ill., graduated in May 1997.