A federal jury has ordered USTA to pay $9 million to former prospect Kylie Mckenzie two years after she accused her coach of inappropriate sexual behavior. She had claimed the organization had failed to protect her from a coach who inappropriately touched her after a practice in 2018 at its Florida training center.
After two years of victim-shaming, the #USTA got hit with $9mm judgment for negligence in its oversight of a coach found to have likely sexual assaulted a top player. https://t.co/QP2FBu3y3T
— Matt Futterman (@MattFutterman) May 7, 2024
On Monday, an update on the case was released, a federal jury ordered the United States Tennis Association to pay $9 million to the once-rising tennis prospect.
She is trying to revive her career and sued the USTA in 2022 after the U.S. Center for SafeSport found it “more likely than not” that she had been assaulted when she was 19, and he was 34.
Coach, Anibal Aranda, who was accused, has denied touching McKenzie inappropriately in 2018. Following he was suspended and then fired by the USTA, and as investigated a USTA employee reported for the first time that she was groped by the coach years earlier.
In the first phase of its verdict, after a weeklong trial in U.S. District Court in Orlando, the jury decided in 2 1/2 hours and awarded McKenzie $3 million in compensatory damages.
In its second phase, she was awarded $6 million in punitive damages, on account of conscious disregard for the rights and safety of others, in part attempts by the USTA to keep the case quiet.
McKenzie shared that on Monday evening,
“I feel validated. It was very hard, but I feel now that it was all worth it. I hope I can be an example for other girls to speak out even when it’s hard.”
As for the USTA response to the verdict, spokesman Chris Widmaier said they would “pursue all avenues of appeal,” even though it was sympathetic to what McKenzie endured. It acted quickly to fire the coach, he said.
