Senior James Kapralos, a former member of the university lacrosse team, is suing Fairfield University for negligence and breach of fiduciary duty, claiming that Lacrosse Head Coach Andrew Baxter forced him into practicing on a torn ACL and meniscus.
According to the civil complaint filed in the Bridgeport Superior Court, Baxter allegedly required Kapralos to participate in a ‘physical test’ despite him not being cleared to play by his knee surgeon. Kapralos alleged the practices caused permanent damage to his knee.
When Kapralos declined to practice because of his injury, Baxter allegedly said that he was “sick of you just laying around” and that he must participate if he wanted to remain on the team.
The lawsuit claims that Kapralos reminded his coach regularly that he was not medically cleared to participate in any practices, to which he was told by Baxter, “when are you going to participate with your team?” and “what are you adding to our team sitting on the sidelines?”
After arriving late to a practice in October 2022, Baxter allegedly told Kapralos to clean out his locker as he was suspended from the team indefinitely. He also told the student that he should reconsider if he wanted to be an active member of the lacrosse team.
According to the lawsuit, “Coach Baxter threatened that if Kapralos chose to stay and remain on the injured reserve list without doing more for the team, the coach would seek to get Kapralos’ scholarship taken away and would not recommend Kapralos to other coaches or schools if he chose to transfer to play elsewhere in the future.”
Kapralos and Baxter made a deal that he could assist other injured players, film games and more to be an active member of the team. However, in late October 2022, Kapralos saw that his name had been removed from the injured players list.
When Kapralos asked Baxter why his name was on the list, he was told that he would begin practicing again with the team because “I’m the coach, you have to listen to me according to the contract you signed to play here.”
Kapralos listened to Baxter and began to practice again, however, he was allegedly hit by a teammate during a “non-contact drill’ and felt a pop in his knee. He returned to his surgeon and discovered that he suffered a third anterior cruciate ligament tear and medial meniscus tear in his left knee.
In the lawsuit, they alleged the injury caused permanent damage to his knee, a lifelong limp and the loss of his athletic scholarship at Fairfield University.
In a statement to The Rearview, Craig Smith, the attorney representing Kapralo, said the lawsuit filed against the university seeks to get Kapralo “some measure of justice from Fairfield University for the pain and suffering he has and will continue to endure throughout his lifetime.”
“While James was recovering from an ACL injury, Coach Baxter chose to repeatedly bully, intimidate and shame him into getting back on the field well before he was ready and medically-cleared to play,” Smith said in a written statement. “At age 21, James went from being a star college athlete to a young man in chronic pain with no chance of ever returning to the field or even running as a direct result of Coach Baxter’s demeaning tactics and Fairfield University’s negligence.
Kapralos is listed as a defender in the 2022 lacrosse roster, but his biography states that he “did not see game action” during the 2022 campaign.
In a statement to The Rearview, Jennifer Anderson ‘97, Fairfield’s vice president of marketing and communications, said the university is committed to the health and safety of their students but declined to discuss the circumstances of the case.
“Fairfield University is committed to upholding the highest standards of care for our community,” Anderson said. “We prioritize the health, safety, and well-being of all students, faculty and staff. As a matter of policy, the University is unable to comment on ongoing or pending litigation matters.”
xxxxx xxxxx • Apr 29, 2025 at 8:36 am
This is total BS. The kid never had the slightest shot at playing anyways. What a crazy move by his family. I was on the team and again, the kid never had any chance of playing nor was he bullied to play. Unreal.