Female college football coach alleges in Title IX lawsuit that one of her players assaulted her

One of the few female college football coaches alleges one of her players assaulted her at a university-sanctioned event.

Madison Lindamood, a graduate assistant coach at Ohio Dominican University, filed a Title IX sex-discrimination complaint against the school.

The lawsuit said the player “approached her aggressively, made physical contact with her body, and forcibly ripped her bag from her person, physically pulling her, and searched her belongings without her consent,” at the March 6 event, according to USA Today.

Ohio Dominican Panthers Riddel helmet sits on the sideline during a college football game against the Penn Quakers. Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Lindamood said at least one witness saw the altercation and she submitted photos of bruises on her neck from the alleged assault.

The suit claims she told the school’s head coach Kelly Cummings and the school’s Title IX coordinator about the reported incident, though she did not report to police because she was “afraid that pushing it further would cost her her job, and she feared for her safety,” her attorney, Sean Sobel, said, per USA Today.

School officials directed her to deal with the issues internally and the investigation would be led by Cummings, who said his “personal definition of assault required blood or severe bruising,” the lawsuit claims.

The report also claimed Cummings suggested the player may have just been treating Lindamood as a sister, and he asked the graduate assistant what she could have done differently.

Lindamood said she then dealt with retaliation from Ohio Dominican, being publicly berated by the coaching staff, cut off from team communications, left out of meetings and forced to work closely with her alleged assailant — despite being promised by the school’s president’s office that she would not face retaliation.

The lawsuit said Lindamood was completely shut out from the program after her mom filed a complaint related to the claimed retaliation in April.

Lindamood’s lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages and compensation for unpaid overtime and minimum wages.

Ohio Dominican Panthers take the field during a college football game against the Penn Quakers. Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

She also claims in the lawsuit to have only made about $1.29 per hour for her work, with unpaid overtime, despite Ohio’s $11-per-hour minimum wage.

According to NCAA data, Lindamood was one of 35 female coaches in any level of college football in 2025, far less than their 7,500 male counterparts.

“I wanted that job,” Lindamood said in a statement. “What I did not expect was to be told that what happened to me did not count unless it drew blood. No woman should have to choose between staying silent and losing the career she’s worked so hard to build.”

As of July 14, Lindamood is still listed in Ohio Dominican’s staff directory.