Myles Powell's lawsuit against Seton Hall University basketball dismissed

After four years in the court system, the lawsuit by former Seton Hall All-America basketball player Myles Powell against his alma mater is over.  

U.S. District Judge William J. Martini dismissed Powell’s claim that the coach and the team's medical staff acted negligently by allowing him to play on a serious knee injury during his senior year, worsening his condition and dashing his hopes of a career in the NBA.

Martini also dismissed a gross negligence claim by Jasmine Smith, a former guard on Seton Hall’s women’s basketball team, who joined Powell’s lawsuit shortly after he filed in in July 2021.

Martini’s ruling, which came down July 28, is the second time he’s dismissed the case in Seton Hall’s favor. The first came in 2022, after which Powell refiled.

Powell claimed the university, then-head coach Kevin Willard and athletic trainer Tony Testa acted negligently by allowing him to play on a torn meniscus in his right knee, which he was told was a minor injury that would not be aggravated if he continued to play for the team during its 2019-20 season. 

Martini ruled that claim unfounded.

“The court readily concludes that Plaintiffs have not produced evidence sufficient to sustain their claim that Defendants violated the applicable standard of care,” Martini wrote in his ruling. “When Powell notified Testa of his injury, and Testa apparently suspected that Powell had suffered a lateral meniscus tear, Testa promptly arranged for Powell to be examined by a doctor the next day. When Dr. Festa (Anthony Festa, Seton Hall’s team physician) determined that Powell had not suffered a meniscus tear, and determined not to restrict Powell’s basketball activities, Testa deferred to that judgment, continued working with Powell to manage his injuries, and arranged for (physicians) to provide any treatments they determined necessary but outside the scope of conduct for an athletic trainer. This is precisely what the standard of conduct for an athletic trainer demands.”

Testa has been Seton Hall’s director of sports medicine since 2009 and is generally well regarded as a cautious practitioner.

Powell, a Trenton native, ranks third in Pirate basketball history with 2,252 points. He helped the Hall make three straight NCAA Tournaments and capture a share of the 2020 Big East regular-season title. That season, he became the program’s first first-team All-American since Walter Dukes in 1953.

But because Powell stood just 6-foot-2, he never projected as an NBA Draft pick. He went undrafted, latched on with the Philadelphia 76ers for 11 games as a free agent in 2021-22, and then began a successful career overseas, including stops in the Philippines and China.

With his lawsuit, Powell essentially ostracized himself from Seton Hall, although he’s been in touch over the years with current head coach Shaheen Holloway, who was the Pirates’ top assistant during Powell’s freshman and sophomore seasons.

It will be interesting to see if Powell seeks a reconciliation with the school, or if Holloway attempts to bring the former star back into the fold now that the legal saga is over. The lawsuit certainly cast a pall over his legacy in South Orange. Though Powell is represented in murals in the recently finished Seton Hall Basketball Performance Center, his image is not as prominent as those of other top-end stars from the past.

Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. Contact him at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Myles Powell's lawsuit vs. Seton Hall University basketball dismissed