YOUNGSTOWN - Not long after a federal judge granted Ursuline's request to have several portions of a federal civil rights lawsuit against the school and its football program removed, attorneys are now asking for that original complaint to be sealed from public viewing.

A motion, granted by Judge Benita Pearson on December 17, struck a total of 183 paragraphs from the 290-page legal document.

Judge Pearson gave the plaintiffs until February 6, 2026 to file an amended complaint without those paragraphs. Until that amended complaint is filed, the original complaint with the stricken paragraphs will still be available for public viewing.

Ursuline's football coaches have requested that these records be sealed for the remainder of the case. The coaches requested that those sections be removed because they were meant to "cast aspersions" and unfairly create bias against them.

Judge Pearson agreed, particularly objecting to a 13-page footnote that contained a critique of the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown's broader policies and referenced numerous scandals involving the Catholic Church as a whole.

Judge Pearson ruled that this section did not meet the "short and plain" requirements of federal court rules and was not relevant to the specific instances at hand.

Additionally, Judge Pearson ordered dozens of paragraphs referencing instances of alleged misconduct from years before the recent football trip to be struck from the complaint to narrow the scope of the lawsuit to the most recent allegations.

Judge Pearson has yet to rule on the request to seal the original complaint.

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