A referee is suing a Nashville high school football coach for “clotheslining” him during a football game last year. The referee said he was hospitalized for four days after the incident.
According to the lawsuit, Trae Cardwell was refereeing at Maplewood High School for the school’s game against Hunters Lane on Aug. 19, 2022. During the second quarter, he was running down the Hunters Lane sideline trying to officiate a Maplewood punt.
That’s when Cardwell said he was clotheslined.
Video of the incident shared with The Tennessean by the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association shows a referee run down the field and collide with Hunters Lane coach William Thomas’ arm as Thomas pointed to the field. The video shows that Thomas was outside the coaches’ box in a three-foot “buffer zone” that rules prohibit coaches from standing in during play.
Referee collides with coach at Nashville high school football game
In this video from Aug. 19, 2022, a referee, presumably Trae Cardwell, collides with the arm of Hunters Lane High School head coach William Thomas. Cardwell is suing the coach.
Nashville Tennessean
The referee slows after the collision, his feet shooting ahead of him while he lands on his back and lets go of what appears to be a penalty flag. He quickly rolls over to his stomach with his hands near his head, at which point the video stops.
An official’s report filed after the game says that Cardwell was given time to recover after the incident, and once he was ready, he finished the game.
“He was knocked down, and probably knocked out for just a few seconds,” said Cardwell’s attorney Thomas Kerrick, of Bowling Green, Kentucky.
Officials determined it was an accident, so Thomas wasn’t ejected. Thomas also told Hunters Lane Executive Principal Susan Kessler that it was an accident, according to a letter from Kessler to TSSAA Executive Director Mark Reeves provided by the TSSAA.
That mistake cost the team a 15-yard penalty, but it could end up costing a lot more.
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Once Cardwell got back home to Lexington, he had trouble breathing and was transported to the University of Kentucky Medical Center’s intensive care unit, where he stayed for four days receiving treatment on his injured trachea, Kerrick said.
On Monday, Cardwell filed a lawsuit for negligence against Thomas and Metro Nashville, Thomas’ employer, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. Cardwell is asking for more than $75,000 in damages.
Part of the money Cardwell is asking for would cover medical costs and lost wages since he didn’t call as many games as normal after the injury. But Kerrick said he’s also asking for compensation for mental suffering.
“There toward the end, it really was an emotional thing too, that this was such a freak accident, that it just kind of freaked him out,” Kerrick said.
Cardwell is hoping to get back on the sidelines this year, Kerrick said.
Neither defendant has filed a response in court as of publication. Metro Nashville Public Schools Athletic Director Mark North declined to comment for this story.
The Tennessean tried reaching Thomas by his cell phone but was unsuccessful.
In the letter from Kessler, Thomas is quoted as saying, “I did not see the linesman coming in my direction and feel very remorseful about this incident as it was never my intention to harm anyone. … After the game, I made sure to shake hands with our linesman and explain to him that, as a football program, we would continue to do our part to keep everyone safe.”
Tennessean high school sports editor Tom Kreager contributed to this report.
