Wednesday, June 3, 2026 - The youngest-ever player signed with Real Salt Lake has filed a lawsuit seeking $100 million, alleging that he was bullied and s£xually harassed while on the team as a minor.
Jeff Dewsnup, now 22, was just 17 when he played goalkeeper for Real Salt
Lake in the United Soccer League, and regularly faced taunts from his adult
team members, who ridiculed the size of his p£nis, waved their genitals at him,
and pelted his rear end with soccer balls, the suit alleges.
He filed a lawsuit naming Real Salt Lake (RSL), Major League Soccer (MLS),
the United States Soccer Federation, Inc. (USSF), staff members, and several
players, claiming that he experienced physical, emotional, and s£xual abuse
while on the team.
Dewsnup joined RSL after attending the RSL Academy in 2019 and was
officially signed in 2021 at age 16. He was the youngest-ever player to sign
with the team, and he retired from the team in 2022, at the age of 18.
According to the lawsuit, neither RSL, Major League Soccer (MLS), nor the
United States Soccer Federation, Inc. (USSF) created any special protections
for him due to his age, requiring him to shower and change in the same locker
room as adult players. He and his parents were not informed about how to report
child abuse while he was on the team.
Dewsnup reportedly felt uncomfortable sharing this space with the adult
professional players, and the complaint states that he suffered sexualized
conduct such as inappropriate comments and seeing adult genitalia. He was even
allegedly hit with a ball from behind while nude by Aaron Herrera, Tate
Schmitt, and Justin Glad.
Documents say he began taking anti-anxiety medication and would wait two
hours to shower to avoid the adult players.
RSL’s goalkeeper coach, Ignacio Hernandez — who is named in the lawsuit —
is accused of acting aggressively toward the then-16-year-old and mishandling
his injuries. He reportedly “forced [Dewsnup] to train while injured” and
verbally abused him.
Additionally, the complaint names player David Ochoa, stating that he made threats and verbally bullied the 16-year-old in front of other players.
The lawsuit says that despite Dewsnup’s family reporting what occurred to the RSL coaches and general manager, nothing changed.
Due to these factors, the lawsuit states that Dewsnup attempted suicide in
April 2022 and was taken to the emergency room. He resigned from RSL following
this.
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