Former baseball player Adam Sasser files lawsuit against UGA, others after dismissal for racial slur

Former University of Georgia baseball player Adam Sasser has filed a lawsuit against the university and other parties regarding his dismissal from the baseball program for using a racial slur at a football game, according to a report from the Athens Banner-Herald.

The lawsuit was filed Sept. 29 in Atlanta for John Doe, which was identified as Sasser, the Banner-Herald reported. Sasser was dismissed from the baseball team after using a racial slur during a Bulldogs’ football game with Tennessee, using a slur to describe quarterback Justin Fields.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Sasser shouted “put the (racial slur) in” regarding Fields as a substitute for starting quarterback Jake Fromm. He apologized for his behavior on Twitter.

Sasser’s lawsuit said the defendants — a group that includes Georgia president Jere Morehead, Georgia Equal Opportunity Office director Eryn Dawkins and Georgia vice chancellor of legal affairs Edward Tate — violated Sasser’s freedom of speech and equal protection under the law, according to the Banner-Herald. The suit seeks a jury trial and punitive damages, as well as compensatory damages, including the chance of playing pro baseball.

Sasser also was suspended from classes in the fall of 2018, and was barred from attending Bulldog home events as a spectator until January 2020 without written permission from Dawkins’ office, according to the report. The suit also claims other students and Georgia athletes have engaged in similar speech but were not dismissed from their teams.

Sasser played high school baseball at Greenbrier in Evans.

University of Georgia Athletics