A Hinsdale South parent is suing the Hinsdale Township High School District and several Hinsdale South employees in an attempt to get her son back on the boys basketball team.

Erin Savage filed the lawsuit on Wednesday in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division. It alleges that Hinsdale South boys basketball coach Michael Belcaster cut her son Brendan after tryouts this fall in retaliation for the family filing a complaint against the previous coach, Michael Moretti.

Belcaster was an assistant last season under Moretti.

“I’ve never filed a lawsuit before,” Erin Savage told the Sun-Times. “Our six kids have been involved in approximately 31 varsity sports at the high school. I’ve never complained about a coach. But we’ve also never encountered [someone] who thinks he can do whatever he wants. That was [Moretti].”

Named in the lawsuit are the Hinsdale Township Board of Education, interim superintendent Linda Yonke, Hinsdale South principal Patrick Hardy, Hinsdale Township School District Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Cheryl Moore, Hinsdale South Athletic Director Art Ostrow and Belcaster.

According to Savage, her son “started probably every game” on varsity as a sophomore and junior. He scored 35 points in a loss to Proviso East last season and was named to the All-Conference team in the West Suburban Conference as a sophomore and junior. 

“This is more than just about him being cut from the basketball team,” Savage’s lawyer, Steven Glink, told the Sun-Times. “This is about what I feel is retaliation of his First Amendment rights. He spoke out against the coach. They substantiated it. The coach got demoted. He tries out for the team, he’s All-Conference as a sophomore and junior and now he doesn’t make the team as a senior? That doesn’t pass the smell test in my book.”

On May 7, Savage filed a complaint with the school board against Moretti, alleging verbal abuse, bullying and humiliation. 

On June 14, the school district responded with a letter from acting superintendent Chris Covino to Savage. It said an investigation determined that “the preponderance of the evidence does not substantiate that Mr. Moretti bullied your son in violation of Board Policy.”

The letter went on to say that “the investigation did substantiate that Mr. Moretti’s interactions and communication with your son have been inappropriate and inconsistent with the high standards of professionalism expected of all employees under Board Policy … further, please be advised that the District does not tolerate any form of retaliation because you have made this complaint.”

The lawsuit alleges that Belcaster cut Savage from the team this season in retaliation for the complaint, which violates “clearly established First Amendment law as well as the BOE’s policy” and asks for $75,000 plus costs and attorney’s fees. 

Glink filed an emergency motion on Monday morning asking the judge to order Hinsdale South to put Savage on the team and give him playing time. 

“Even if they put him on the team and never play him it is the same retaliation,” Glink said. 

No one from Hinsdale South has responded to requests for comment.