BOSTON -- The family of a teenager who died by suicide was awarded $5.4 million this week after a jury found his football coach and several school administrators were negligent in the way they responded before the 15-year-old's death. Nathan Bruno killed himself in 2018 after his family alleges Portsmouth High School's then-football coach Ryan Moniz pressured the boy to reveal the names of other students involved in sending harassing text messages and phone calls to the coach.
The family also alleges Moniz had football players pressure Bruno to provide the names. The jury's decision Wednesday said Moniz was both negligent and that his actions caused Bruno’s suicide — meaning he alone was responsible for the jury award, which would be paid out by the school district. The boy’s father, Richard Bruno, declined to comment Friday on the jury’s decision.
Moniz did not immediately respond to a message sent to his school email. It’s not the first time a school district has been ordered to pay after a student takes their own life. A Utah school district in 2023 agreed to pay $2 million to the family of a Black, autistic 10-year-old girl who killed herself after being harassed by her classmates.
Bruno’s suicide led to the School Committee to remove Moriz as football coach, although he is still listed on the district’s website as a teacher. Rhode Island's legislature passed a law in 2021 named in honor of Bruno that requires all public school districts to adopt suicide pre.
