![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/SAC_SN_0902_DC_BV_0944.JPG\" "\\"The")
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
The Del Campo Cougars football team runs onto the field before the game against the Bella Vista Broncos on Friday, Sept. 2, 2022, at Del Campo High School in Fair Oaks.<\/p>\n
Sara Nevis<\/p>\n
Sacramento Bee file<\/p>\n
A former student-athlete has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against two former Del Campo High School football coaches and the San Juan Unified School District, accusing one coach of using racial slurs and making a discriminatory reference to reporting students from immigrant backgrounds to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.<\/p>\n
The student, Riley Cochran-Hernandez, further alleged that the coaches \u2014 Jeff Remington and Matt Costa \u2014 endangered him and other football players by making them practice through serious injury and in extreme heat.<\/p>\n
The 23-page complaint was filed Thursday in Sacramento federal court by San Francisco-based law firm Sweigart Murdock and seeks compensatory and punitive damages as well as a jury trial.<\/p>\n
The complaint alleges that Cochran-Hernandez was \u201csubjected to years of discriminatory treatment\u201d while he was a Del Campo athlete. Cochran-Hernandez is of Hispanic descent.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit alleges that Del Campo coaches used a racial slur around players and ran unsafe practices in 100-degree-plus heat, including restricting water breaks and creating a hostile environment through \u201critualized verbal abuse and humiliation.\u201d It also alleges the coaches stripped him of his starting role on the team, costing him a shot at securing a full athletic scholarship.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t want anyone to go through what I went through while playing a sport they love,\u201d Cochran-Hernandez said in a statement provided by his lawyer. \u201cI filed this lawsuit because, without my voice, I don\u2019t believe there will be any change.\u201d<\/p>\n
Costa on Thursday declined to comment. Remington could not be immediately reached for comment.<\/p>\n
San Juan Unified spokesperson Raj Rai said: \u201cCreating and maintaining safe learning environments for students and staff is a top priority for the San Juan Unified School District. I am unable to comment on pending litigation.\u201d<\/p>\n
The complaint alleges that a muscle pull in Cochran-Hernandez\u2019s leg in spring 2025 was not properly treated and was ignored by Del Campo coaches, resulting in nerve damage.<\/p>\n
Costa, who took the helm at Del Campo in 2021, stepped away from coaching duties last September<\/a> to deal with the declining health of his father, Joe, who died in February. Costa was placed on administrative leave after stepping down as the district looked into allegations of coaching misconduct, and later confirmed to The Sacramento Bee that he along with all other varsity coaches were let go at the end of the 2025 season.<\/p>\n Remington took over for Costa and was soon also placed on administrative leave as the investigation intensified. The varsity team finished 2-9, and Del Campo in February named Jordan Botha its next head coach<\/a>.<\/p>\n Coaches in California are on year-to-year, at-will contracts and can be removed at any time for any reason.<\/p>\n What the lawsuit alleges<\/p>\n The lawsuit said that Cochran-Hernandez\u2019s dream was to play on scholarship at the University of Michigan, one of the elite powerhouse programs in Division I athletics, and that football was his \u201clifeline.\u201d<\/p>\n Cochran-Hernandez competed on the freshman team at Del Campo and on the junior varsity team as a sophomore in 2023. He did not play football as a junior during the 2024 season because, the complaint states, he wanted to \u201cfocus on his mental health, which was in poor shape because of how he was treated.\u201d<\/p>\n The suit alleges that \u201cdespite his lifelong love for football and his dedication to the sport, Cochran-Hernandez \u201csuffered years of abuse at the hands of two members of the coaching staff: Coach Remington and Coach Costa.\u201d<\/p>\n The suit continued, \u201cFrom (Cochran-Hernandez\u2019s) early days on the team, Coach Costa continuously sidelined him and diminished his contributions to the team, ignoring his exemplary performance when he was allowed to play.\u201d<\/p>\n The suit alleges that the coaches retaliated by stripping Cochran-Hernandez of his starting job, removing him from the team as punishment and costing him a chance at a full athletic scholarship, thus denying him his dreams.<\/p>\n Lawsuit against former Del Campo High football coachesWhat school district\u2019s investigation found<\/p>\n The lawsuit follows a formal complaint Cochran-Hernandez and his family submitted to San Juan Unified at the end of July.<\/p>\n A copy of the school district\u2019s investigation report, included as an attachment to the filed lawsuit, shows that the district\u2019s legal compliance coordinator Sterling Williams on Sept. 23 concluded: \u201cThe preponderance of evidence demonstrates that (Remington and Costa\u2019s) leadership of the Del Campo football program has been detrimental to student safety and well-being.\u201d<\/p>\n The district compliance coordinator\u2019s investigation substantiated several of the claims. These included medical negligence, use of racial slurs and an \u201cinappropriate immigration comment\u201d made by Remington; physical punishment and inappropriate rituals used by Costa; and intimidation, harassment, verbal abuse, retaliation, exclusion from a team trip and inadequate hydration on the part of both coaches.<\/p>\n Other claims including those categorized as physical assault \u2014 one stating that each of the coaches pushed a student and that Remington grabbed one student by the neck \u2014 were not substantiated by the district\u2019s review but were reiterated in Cochran-Hernandez\u2019s lawsuit.<\/p>\n The compliance coordinator\u2019s report found that Costa and Remington\u2019s actions violated district policies on bullying.<\/p>\n \u201cImmediate action is necessary to mitigate ongoing harm, ensure compliance with District policies, and restore a safe and supportive environment for student-athletes,\u201d Williams wrote.<\/p>\n Williams called upon the school\u2019s human resources department to \u201cfollow the appropriate mechanisms for discipline in response to the sustained allegations.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMultiple witnesses, including coaches and players, confirmed that a culture of fear and a \u2018code of silence\u2019 existed within the football program, which discouraged students and staff from speaking out against inappropriate behavior,\u201d wrote Williams. \u201cThis corroboration underscores that the conduct was not isolated but reflective of a broader issue within the football program.\u201d<\/p>\n San Juan Unified response to student complaintUse of racial slur and \u2018ICE\u2019 comment<\/p>\n Summaries of Costa and Remington\u2019s responses to district investigators were included in the compliance coordinator\u2019s report.<\/p>\n Remington denied using a racial slur in any form. He \u201creferenced a team culture requiring players who used the (slur) to perform 20 push-ups,\u201d the existence of which, according to the compliance coordinator, Costa corroborated.<\/p>\n But Williams, the compliance coordinator, wrote that Cochran-Hernandez along with two other football players and two assistant coaches gave accounts of Remington saying the slur.<\/p>\n A former Del Campo assistant coach, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they feared retaliation, said language during practices could be \u201csalty\u201d but disputed the use of racial slurs, particularly if Costa was present.<\/p>\n That former coach also disputed Cochran-Hernandez\u2019s status on the team, saying he was never a starter and was not a college prospect and that, when slowed by the leg injury, would run out to engage in drills. Cochran-Hernandez did not record a statistic as a varsity player at Del Campo.<\/p>\n On one occasion, described in the lawsuit as happening during a team activity in spring 2025, Remington \u201cmade a comment referencing Immigration and Customs Enforcement and a monetary figure of \u2018$1,500,\u2019\u201d an apparent reference to false rumors circulating at that time that those who reported illegal immigrants to ICE could receive cash rewards around that amount.<\/p>\n The lawsuit stated that this comment \u201cwas made to a group that included Hispanic and immigrant students.\u201d<\/p>\n Williams wrote that Remington admitted to making the ICE comment.<\/p>\n \u201c(Remington) explained that the statement was made in response to several Afghan students who were mocking them during practice and was intended as a general remark rather than a targeted threat,\u201d the compliance coordinator wrote, noting that such a statement represents a hostile environment for students \u201cregardless of intent.\u201d<\/p>\n Health and safety concerns<\/p>\n The former student-athlete further alleged that Remington and Costa \u201cforced students to perform bear crawls in 110-degree heat until their hands were burned\u201d and \u201csubjected players to ritualized humiliation designed to demean\u201d during practice.<\/p>\n The compliance report supported the allegation that the bear crawl drill \u201cwas done under extreme and unsafe conditions, resulting in physical harm to students.\u201d A player provided the compliance coordinator with photographs of his hands after the drill.<\/p>\n Cochran-Hernandez alleges he pulled a muscle in early March 2025, according to the lawsuit.<\/p>\n He obtained a note from his primary care physician asking for a week of rest until he could receive an MRI to confirm the severity of the injury.<\/p>\n \u201cCoach Remington criticized other players who took time off to recover from quad injuries and dismissed Riley\u2019s injury in front of his teammates,\u201d Cochran-Hernandez\u2019s attorneys wrote in the lawsuit. \u201cCoach Remington told Riley that if he did not practice, he would be removed from the team.\u201d<\/p>\n Cochran-Hernandez continued practicing but, after a game of seven-on-seven, endured pain so severe he could not walk. He returned to the doctor \u201cand learned that the muscle tear now extended from his knee to close to the top of the leg,\u201d the lawsuit says.<\/p>\n Further, the district\u2019s investigation determined Remington and Costa limited students to one to two water breaks during each practice. This increased to five to six breaks per practice once the coaches became aware of the investigation, one player and one assistant coach told the compliance coordinator.<\/p>\n The tension between Cochran-Hernandez\u2019s father Darrin Cochran and Costa spilled into the stands during at least one game. Costa\u2019s parents, Maggie and Joe Costa, were verbally accosted by Darrin Cochran, before and during a nonleague game against El Dorado of Placerville on Aug. 29, two sources who witnessed the scene told The Bee, both of them declining to use their name out of fears of retribution.<\/p>\n The game was at Del Campo in Fair Oaks. Maggie and Joe Costa each wrote two-page, handwritten letters to the Del Campo administration, detailing their account of the verbal abuse. It was the last time Costa\u2019s parents saw their son coach.<\/p>\n It was also the last time Costa and Del Campo won a game. Del Campo defeated El Dorado 41-28 to move to 2-0 on the season but lost the remaining nine games.<\/p>\n This story was originally published April 16, 2026 at 5:53 PM.<\/p>\n![\"Del](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/SAC_SN_0902_DC_BV_0006.jpeg\" "\\"SAC_SN_0902_DC_BV_0006\\"")
Del Campo coach Matt Costa stands on the sidelines during the playing of the national anthem before the game against the Bella Vista Broncos on Friday, Sept. 2, 2022, at Del Campo High School in Fair Oaks. The Cougars won 31-7. Sara Nevis Sacramento Bee file <\/p>\n![\"Del](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/7953_NSL_241109_Sac_v_DC.JPG\" "\\"7953_NSL_241109_Sac_v_DC.JPG\\"")
Del Campo coach Matt Costa signals to his players in the first half of a Sac-Joaquin Section first-round playoff game against the Sacramento Dragons on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024. Nathaniel Levine nlevine@sacbee.com Costa\u2019s parents wrote letter to Del Campo about their own abuse<\/p>\n
![\"Profile](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_PK__DAVIDSON_2_1_6V6DGENQ_L174213210.jpeg\")