NY Jets Legend Joe Namath Labeled a ‘Pedophile Protector’ in Lawsuit from Man Who Was Allegedly Abused at His Football Camp in the 1970s
Bill Kostroun/AP
A man has accused Joe Namath of being an “enabler” of the sexual abuse he allegedly faced as a boy at the New York Jets legend’s football camp in the 1970s.
The man, 64-year-old Philip Lyle Smith of Florida, revealed himself as the “John Doe” mentioned in the Brooklyn lawsuit. He told the New York Post about years of abuse he says he experienced at the Joe Namath Instructional Football camp, beginning in 1972.
According to Smith, he was brought to the camp by Brooklyn Poly Prep Country Club coach Philip Foglietta. Smith, who was 12 at the time, went as Foglietta’s “invited guest” despite being years younger than the high school students who usually attended the camp.
Foglietta coached at Brooklyn Poly Prep for 25 years. He died in 1998, just a few years before it was revealed he abused dozens of students at the school.
The lawsuit lists Namath and former Jets defensive back John Dockery — who helped run the camp — among the defendants, calling them “enablers and the pedophile protectors.” Smith compared them to disgraced Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, who allegedly knew assistant coach Jerry Sandusky was abusing young boys for years.
Smith claimed Foglietta personally introduced him Namath, who at the time was his idol. Foglietta also made sure Namath and the other coaches went out of their way to greet Smith and make him feel special. Now, Smith believes this was all part of the grooming process.
Smith also claimed Foglietta insisted he sleep in his room as opposed to staying with the other students. While in Foglietta’s room, he alleges the coach would give him naked massages and engage in sexual acts. This continued at the camp in 1973 and 1975.
Namath and Dockery, Smith continued, should have known about the unorthodox sleeping arrangement. Additionally, supervisors did nothing when Foglietta insisted he sleep in his room.
According to the Post, a Brooklyn Supreme Court denied a defense motion to dismiss the case. Several of the defendants have appealed the decision.
