Ex-Basketball Player Sues University Over Illiteracy

A former Creighton University basketball player who claimed that he was functionally illiterate when he left the school in 1982 has filed a lawsuit alleging that educators there failed to adequately teach him.

The lawsuit filed by Kevin Ross also accuses the Omaha, Neb., university of breach of contract and seeks an unspecified amount of damages.

Ross, whose problems gained national attention, contends in the lawsuit that Creighton recruited him when it knew or should have known that he was “ill-equipped and unable to successfully participate” in the school’s curriculum.

The lawsuit was processed in Cook County Circuit Court on Monday.

Ross, 30, also alleges that Creighton enrolled him in Chicago’s Westside Preparatory School, a noted private elementary and high school, but failed to monitor his progress.

Second-Grade Level

Ross read at a second-grade level when he entered Westside in 1982 but after eight months under the tutelage of educator Marva Collins, his reading level increased to that of a high school senior.

A television movie was made documenting his efforts at Westside, but according to the lawsuit, Creighton was negligent by not placing Ross in a proper adult education program.

It further alleges that Creighton’s negligence led Ross to suffer severe depression, illustrated by a July 23, 1987, incident in which he barricaded himself in a Chicago motel room and tossed furniture and other items out the window.

The incident was “a manifestation of this depression,” the lawsuit alleges.

Creighton officials could not be reached for comment early today. In February, the Rev. Michael Morrison, university president, said he was still haunted by Ross’s plight.

“When will Kevin go away?” Morrison asked a student who had mentioned seeing an article about Ross. “Oh, my God, I wish I knew.”