John T.D. v. River Delta Joint Unified School District CA3

I. BACKGROUND

The fourth amended complaint was brought by John and his co-plaintiff N.B. against River Delta Joint Unified School District (the District), its superintendent, plaintiffs’ former principal, and plaintiffs’ former coach. Plaintiffs’ first and second causes of action alleged separate claims for sex-based harassment and retaliation against the District under Title IX. The third and fourth causes of action were asserted only by co-plaintiff N.B. against all defendants and alleged state law claims for negligent supervision and hiring that are not at issue in this appeal. For purposes of this appeal, we need only summarize the relevant facts pertaining to John. John was a member of the football team. John alleges his coach would talk about sex with his wife and ask “ ‘how far’ ” team members had gotten with their girlfriends, questioning them about specifics. If team members admitted they were not having sex with their girlfriends, the coach asked, “ ‘why not’ ” and “ ‘what are you waiting for?’ ” The coach spoke about the importance of penis size. At weekly team dinners, the coach talked about having sex with various players’ mothers. John did not participate in the…