A confidential place to figure out what happened, what your rights are, and what to do next. For athletes dealing with sexual misconduct, an abusive coach, retaliation after speaking up, a Title IX accusation, or a team that was cut. Nothing you say here reaches your school.
Athletes live inside a closed system. The coach controls playing time, the athletic department controls the scholarship, the trainer and the academic advisor report to the department, and the teammates are the people you see at 6 a.m. every day. When something goes wrong, the people an athlete would normally talk to are the same people who have power over the athlete's future, and under most campus policies, most of them are required to report what they hear to the Title IX office whether the athlete wants that or not.
So athletes stay quiet. They put up with a coach who crosses lines, they do not report a teammate, they accept a suspension without asking what the policy allows, and they watch a program get cut without knowing the law has something to say about it. This page exists so that there is one place to ask the questions without setting anything in motion.
Talking to a lawyer is confidential. Talking to your coach usually is not.
Coaches, assistant coaches, athletic trainers, strength staff, and academic advisors are designated reporters at most institutions. What you tell them goes to the Title IX coordinator. An attorney is bound by privilege; what you tell the firm stays with the firm unless you decide otherwise. A consultation does not notify your school and does not start a case.
The single most useful thing an athlete can know before saying anything is which people are required to pass it on. Policies vary by school, so confirm yours, but the pattern is consistent.
Team physicians and trainers sit in an uncomfortable middle: their clinical role is confidential in some policies and reportable in others, and the same person may wear both hats. When in doubt, ask "are you a confidential resource under the Title IX policy?" before you say anything, and get the answer in writing if you can. Who athletes can talk to confidentially covers this in detail.
The first conversation is free and private. Its purpose is to work out what happened, what the policy at your school says, what deadline if any is running, and whether anything needs doing right now. Many athletes need one conversation and no engagement.
Most athlete advising is a flat fee, quoted before any work begins. The scope is defined at the same time: preparing for an interview, reviewing a report, a hearing, an appeal, or a written challenge to an interim measure. Matters that run through a full hearing and appeal over months may be hourly, and you will be told that on the first call.
The work happens wherever your school is. Title IX is federal law and campus procedures are similar across institutions, so the advisor work is done by phone and video for athletes in many states. Sean H. Sobel is licensed in Ohio; a court proceeding outside Ohio would require local counsel or admission pro hac vice.
Parents are welcome on the first call. The athlete is the client if the athlete is an adult, and the athlete needs to be part of the conversation, but parents often make the first contact and that is fine.
Every matter is different. Descriptions of typical timing, fees, and outcomes are general and do not guarantee any particular result in your case.
This goes only to attorney Sean H. Sobel. It does not go to your school, your coach, or anyone in the athletic department, and sending it does not start any process. You will get a written reply, usually the same day, after a conflict check.
Use a personal email and phone, not school accounts, which the school can access. Submitting this form does not create an attorney-client relationship; the firm checks for conflicts before opening any matter, and your message is treated as confidential either way.
Prefer to talk? Schedule a free call or call (216) 282-9776. If you are in immediate danger, call 911. The National Sexual Assault Hotline is 800-656-4673, confidential and available around the clock.
Yes. Communications with an attorney for the purpose of legal advice are privileged, and nothing you tell the firm goes to your school, your coach, or the athletic department unless you decide it should. That is different from a coach, athletic trainer, or academic advisor, who under most campus policies must report what you tell them to the Title IX office.
No. A consultation is private and does not notify anyone. Many athletes contact the firm to understand their options and never file anything. If you do decide to report, you control when and how.
Not lawfully. Title IX prohibits retaliation against anyone who reports sex discrimination or participates in a Title IX process, and adverse changes in playing time, roster status, or scholarship after a report are the kinds of facts a retaliation claim is built on. Document the timing.
Schools can impose interim measures, including removal from competition, before any finding, but the measures must be individualized and the school's own policy usually sets limits. An advisor can challenge an interim suspension that goes beyond what the policy allows or that is not tied to a safety concern.
Yes. Title IX is federal law and institutional procedures are similar across schools, so the advisor work is done by phone and video for athletes at institutions in many states. Sean H. Sobel is licensed in Ohio; a court proceeding outside Ohio would require local counsel or admission pro hac vice.
Most athlete advising is a flat fee, quoted before any work begins, with the scope defined at the same time. Open-ended matters that run through a hearing and appeal may be hourly, and you will be told that on the first call. The first call is free.
Yes, and parents often do. The athlete is the client if the athlete is an adult, and the athlete will need to be part of the conversation, but an initial call with a parent to understand the situation is common.
A free, confidential conversation about what happened and what your options are. Nothing goes to your school.
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