Julia Pernsteiner: Florida college athlete told cops coach Ron Grigg said ‘kill yourself’ a month before she died by suicide
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA: A 23-year-old Florida student-athlete who died by suicide on November 8, 2021, after suffering from a swell of abuse from her track coach, had allegedly complained to the police about the coach's behavior a month before her death. Julia Pernsteiner from Jacksonville University had a learning disability for which she was cruelly scorned by the University's track and field coach Ron Grigg.
The former coach Ron would degrade Julia by calling her "fat and "retarded" before cutting her from the team without notice. Julia's parents are suing Jacksonville University on the grounds that officials ignored her pleas for help. Ron would make offhand statements such as "Why do I keep you around if you’re not smart and you're not fast?" adding, "Go kill yourself. You're awful," reported Daily Mail.
READ MORE
Julia Pernsteiner details her alleged abuse
A video recorded by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office on October 22, revealed detailed scores of abuse Julia suffered by Ron. At one instance, Julia said after her grades started slipping, Ron called her and yelled saying, "You don't know how to wipe your own f*****g ass. Everyone here is done with you. You're the slowest f*****g runner on the planet. You're an awful person," reported the source.
In another instance, when Ron discovered Julia had started to voice his brutal abuse toward her, she would wake up to text messages from him that read, "You're talking f*****g nonsense. You always talk f*****g nonsense." Julia expressed that Ron would make her "mentally feel stupid" and that he was degrading her on a daily basis." In another nod, the coach messaged his student saying, "You're gonna f*****g destroy this track team. You're the one who is tearing it down."
'I've never hit you, have I?'
Moreover, the officer explains the alleged toxic behavior of the coach did not constitute a crime in Florida and that he couldn't take an action unless Ron physically attacked or made a specific threat of violence against Julia. The student-athlete detailed another harrowing instance where Ron asked her, "I've never hit you, have I?" "I treat everyone like family. That's why I can say what I say."
However, in a police report that was made after the interview detailing Ron's behavior, the sheriff's deputy wrote that Julia was made aware that she was kicked off the team due to her falling grades and for being a whistleblower. "She advised that the head coach for track has caused her emotional distress by telling her to lose weight, threatening to kick her off the team, and saying that she is the worst on the team," according to Fox News. Following her tragic death, Ron resigned from his position.
