Family of UNLV student who died after boxing match sues

The family of a UNLV student who died following a fraternity-sponsored boxing match in November has filed a lawsuit against the university and the Kappa Sigma Fraternity.

Nathan Valencia, a 20-year-old junior studying kinesiology, collapsed during the fraternity’s charity boxing match on Nov. 19 at Sahara Event Center, 800 E. Karen Ave., and died four days later from blunt force head trauma suffered during the fight.

The lawsuit, filed Monday in District Court, accuses the fraternity of failing to implement safety protocols, providing inadequate equipment for the students participating in the fights, and using an unlicensed referee who was intoxicated at the time of Valencia’s match.

The suit also claimed that UNLV knew about Kappa Sigma Fight Night events, which had been held since about 2012, and knew that students had suffered “serious injuries” in prior years. One previous participant had been knocked unconscious and required hospital care, the suit said.

“UNLV knowingly placed participants at risk of serious bodily harm by failing to reasonably enforce or implement policies, procedures, and regulations which would have prevented the death of (Valencia),” Benjamin Cloward, Ian Estrada and Landon Littlefield, attorneys representing Valencia’s family, wrote in the suit.

The suit was also filed against the Sahara Event Center, which attorneys claim “had notice or knowledge” of injuries at previous Fight Nights.

“Sahara Events Center knew that the Kappa Sigma defendants were unqualified, untrained, inexperienced, and unlicensed in boxing promotion and event planning,” the suit said.

A representative for the event center declined to comment on Tuesday.

UNLV spokesman Tony Allen responded to the suit via email.

“Our deepest sympathies remain with Nathan Valencia’s family, friends and loved ones,” Allen wrote. “The university is continuing its internal review into the incident and is cooperating fully with state and local agencies. Out of respect for the legal process, the university has no further comment on the litigation at this time.”

Kappa Sigma did not immediately respond to request for comment. The suit also named seven “Kappa Sigma executives” as defendants.

Valencia’s family claims that the fraternity failed to provide “basic, minimum safety protocols” such as medical examinations of the participants, drug testing, ringside medical personnel, and safety checks for the students’ handwraps, boxing gloves and head gear, the suit said.

The three-round boxing match between Valencia and another student, who was not named as a defendant, was advertised as the “Main Event” of the night. During the fight, Valencia was wearing “inadequate and improper safety equipment,” and the other student had “unreasonably small boxing gloves,” the suit said.

Valencia and the other student weren’t the only participants who had issues with equipment, according to the suit.

“The Kappa Sigma Defendants knew or should have known that several of the boxers had experienced issues with the fit and/or performance of the head gear, boxing gloves, or other equipment that was provided to them,” Cloward, Estrada and Littlefield wrote.

The fraternity is also accused of failing to cancel the event when a licensed boxing referee was no longer available. Instead, the fraternity selected a new referee, identified in the suit as Christopher Eisenhauer, who was unlicensed and had no prior experience or training, according to the lawsuit.

Attempts to reach Eisenhauer on Tuesday were unsuccessful.

According to the suit, Eisenhauer drank alcohol throughout the event and was intoxicated during Valencia’s match, which fraternity members were aware of.

In December, UNLV’s chapter of the fraternity was suspended after school officials launched an investigation into the boxing match.

Las Vegas police have announced they would not pursue criminal charges in Valencia’s death.

The Nevada Athletic Commission in December unanimously passed “Nathan’s Law,” establishing emergency regulations for amateur boxing events. Organizers for such events are now required to prove ahead of time that emergency medical personnel will be present, along with trained referees.

The commission has previously said it would investigate “every aspect” of the match, although the status of that investigation was unclear as of Tuesday.

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.