Settlement reached in federal lawsuit alleging sex abuse at Rockstar Cheer

A settlement has been reached in the federal case against the shuttered Rockstar Cheer gym in Greer, the estate of its deceased founder and a national cheer organization according to court records filed early last week.

The first federal lawsuit filed in September 2022 on behalf of nine anonymous plaintiffs alleged that a range of sexual and physical abuse occurred at the cheerleading gym over several years. Three additional federal lawsuits on behalf of three other plaintiffs were filed shortly after the first complaint.

The lawsuits, which were dismissed on April 8, accused the Rockstar Cheer’s founder, Scott Foster who died by suicide in August 2022, and seven other coaches of a range of wrongdoing, including rape, providing drugs and alcohol to athletes, groping, and inappropriate touching and the exchange of sexual messages and images.

The complaints also named national cheer organizations including the U.S. All-Star Federation (USASF), all-star competitive cheerleading’s governing body, Varsity Spirit LLC, a for-profit organization that runs and operates cheerleading competitions, Jeff Webb, Varsity’s founder, and corporate entities Charlesbank Capital Partners and Bain Capital.

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The lawsuits claimed the organizations failed to intervene and protect athletes from abuse, but also alleged the companies maintain an exploitive network that "created, organized and propagated a system of young-athlete abuse against innocent victims."

Documents filed on April 8 stated that a settlement was reached between Rockstar Cheer & Dance, former co-owner and Scott Foster’s widow, Kathy Foster as the representative of Foster’s estate and Kathy Foster individually. A separate filing stated a settlement was reached between USASF and the plaintiffs on the same date.

Varsity Brands LLC, Varsity Spirit, Varsity Holdings Company LLC, and Jeff Webb were dismissed from the lawsuits in November 2023 and are not a part of the settlement. Similarly, Charlesbank Capital Partners and Bain Capital were dismissed in June 2023.

A third filing on April 9 stated that counsel advised the court for the other remaining parties that the case had been settled and it was dismissed. No additional details about the settlement were provided, but according to the documents, the agreement must be met within 60 days.

A separate case against Rockstar Cheer, Foster’s estate, Varsity, and USASF filed in August 2022 in state court in Greenville County is ongoing.

No local law enforcement investigations were made regarding allegations in the Rockstar Cheer lawsuits, according to prior reporting.

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On Aug. 22, 2022, Foster, 49, was found dead in his vehicle with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound at Paris Mountain State Park. Only days later on Aug. 30, a lawsuit was filed in Greenville County that alleged Foster "persuaded" "an anonymous plaintiff who was a minor at the time "into performing various sexual acts including oral and penetrative sex."

The lawsuit, filed by Columbia-based law firm Chappell, Smith & Arden and Greenville-based law firm Bannister, Wyatt & Stalvey, named national cheer entities Varsity and USASF, claiming the institutions failed to "act in a manner reasonable given the seriousness of the allegations."

The first federal lawsuit filed by Strom Law Firm in Columbia came days after on Sept. 1, and within two months the case against Rockstar Cheer snowballed to include 12 anonymous plaintiffs and seven coaches.

Rockstar Cheer was shuttered indefinitely on Sept. 7, 2022.

The lawsuits accused the former coaches of a range of physical and sexual abuse while many of the alleged victims were minors. In one instance, former coach Josh Guyton was accused of touching a 15-year-old inappropriately during his tenure at Rockstar. The touching, which the complaint identifies as “grooming behavior,” occurred at the gym and his home, according to the lawsuit.

More: Rockstar Cheer sex abuse scandal grows as more coaches are accused

In another allegation, an unidentified male plaintiff alleged coaches Traevon Black and Peter Holley made inappropriate and vulgar comments to him when he joined Rockstar at age 14. Two years later, when the plaintiff was 16, Black and Holley solicited "nude photographs" from him, according to the complaint.

One unidentified female plaintiff also alleged Scott Foster’s wife, Kathy Foster, of "bullying," "body-shaming,” and "excessive" and punishing training.

Most of the coaches denied the allegations throughout the legal saga.

National cheerleading entities, Varsity and USASF, were also implicated in the lawsuit and were alleged to have operated an exploitative system with little accountability that "created, organized and propagated a system of young-athlete abuse against innocent victims."

USASF upholds rules and regulations for Varsity-sponsored competitions and requires paid membership dues for gyms to participate in events nationwide. The organization handles complaints of abuse and maintains an ineligibility list of banned and suspended coaches from participating in USASF-sanctioned events, many of whom have been accused of sexual and physical abuse.

The entangled relationship between the two cheer entities, based in Memphis, has often been criticized as an unregulated monopoly.

A 2020 investigation by USA Today found USASF’s complaint process was inherently flawed and that complaints of abuse to the organization were often delayed or paused, allowing accused abusers to continue interacting with athletes.

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Initially, the lawsuits accused the organizations of several claims including racketeering, fraud, and civil conspiracy. However, by the dismissal of the lawsuits, only claims of negligence and breach of contract against USASF remained, and Varsity was dismissed entirely.

Since Rockstar’s demise, Strom Law Firm has spearheaded several other lawsuits against cheerleading gyms across the nation. In all, 12 lawsuits were filed against six gyms in seven states.

Kathryn Casteel is an investigative reporter and editor with The Greenville News and can be reached at KCasteel@gannett.com or on X @kathryncasteel.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Settlement reached in federal sex abuse case against Rockstar Cheer