The settlement of a lawsuit brought by former Fighting Illini football player Simon Cvijanovic alleging mistreatment by former head coach Tim Beckman significantly lessens the damage to the Illinois athletic department.
The allegations of misconduct by Beckman and his staff were serious, and ultimately led to his dismissal. Thanks to the Simon Cvijanovic settlement, the long-term damage done to Illinois has been limited.
According to a press release from Cvijanovic’s representation in the suit, Cvijanovic has received a one-time payment from the university’s insurance policies in the amount of $250,000 that will go toward the cost of healthcare for injuries that he alleges he sustained while playing football for the University of Illinois.
In exchange for the quarter of a million dollars, Cvijanovic has dropped all of his claims against the university. He alleged that Beckman forced him to play through shoulder and knee injuries during the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons. He was just one of several former football players who voiced similar complaints against Beckman according to Adam Rittenberg of ESPN, but Cvijanovic has been the only one to actually file suit against Illinois thus far.
While a quarter of a million dollars isn’t an insignificant amount for Cvijanovic, this suit was resolved with very little cost to Illinois. On top of the settlement being paid by the university’s insurance policy underwriters and not out of the athletic department fund or university treasury, the fact that this case did not go to trial allows Illinois to avoid any possible negative public perceptions that could have followed the facts of the situation involving Cvijanovic and other players becoming public knowledge.
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Thus far Illinois has been able to pin most of the blame for the abuses in the program on Beckman and former athletic director Mike Thomas. Illinois has spun the situation as having been resolved with their dismissals. That narrative is furthered in the statement by Tomasik, Kotin and Kasserman, as Illinois Chancellor Robert J. Jones said that, “with new leadership in place for the athletic program and the football team, the University has demonstrated a commitment to the health and well-being all Fighting Illini student-athletes.”
The settlement of this suit allows Illinois to strengthen that narrative, and all fans should hope that the situation for Fighting Illini athletes truly has improved so that experiences like Cvijanovic’s won’t occur again.