Former high school football players sue school division for lack of protection from predatory coach Pembina Trails officials neglected three Vincent Massey students’ safety, allowed Kelsey McKay to continue abuse, lawsuit claims By: Erik Pindera Posted: 5:01 PM CDT Tuesday, Sep. 16, 2025 Last Modified: 5:26 PM CDT Tuesday, Sep. 16, 2025 Updates

Three former Vincent Massey Collegiate football players are suing their old school division, alleging officials failed to protect them from ex-coach Kelsey McKay, who has since been convicted of multiple sex and luring crimes.

The three former students — referred to by initials A.B., C.D. and E.F. in the court documents — filed their lawsuit in Court of King’s Bench on Sept. 4, naming Pembina Trails School Division as defendant.

The division has yet to reply in court.

The students attended the school on Dowker Avenue off Pembina Highway from 2013 to 2017 and played on the varsity football team while McKay was head coach.

They allege 55-year-old McKay — someone they looked up to, trusted and feared — abused that trust and sexually exploited them.

The court filings allege McKay “psychologically abused, manipulated, bullied, groomed, lured, exploited and harassed the plaintiffs,” beginning in about 2013 and carrying through to about the spring of 2021.

The alleged inappropriate behaviour claimed in the lawsuit included meeting with the teens in isolation, messaging and meeting with them to sexually exploit and harass them, discussing sexual preferences, criticizing and belittling them in front of their peers and other similar conduct to intimidate and lure them.

McKay worked and coached football at Churchill High School for nearly two decades before moving to Vincent Massey in 2009 to teach and set up a football program.

He was sentenced to 20 years in prison last October for nine counts of sexual assault and two of luring. McKay pleaded guilty to the charges in 2023.

The victims in the criminal case were students and football players at both Churchill and Vincent Massey.

The offences he admitted to happened 10-20 years ago, when McKay was in his 30s and 40s. Most of his victims were between the ages of 15 and 18.

He was charged in April 2022, although many in the school football community had heard allegations about him long before criminal charges were filed.

Based on the new civil court filing and records from the criminal case, it appears that the plaintiffs in the lawsuit were not among the victims included in the sex and luring charges to which McKay entered guilty pleas.

The lawyer for the plaintiffs, Keith Ferbers, would not comment.

In 2016, three sets of parents complained to both school and division administration about McKay’s excessive text messaging and unprofessional and inappropriate behaviour with their sons, who attended the school and played football under McKay’s leadership.

The school ordered him to stop texting and meeting with students, but he ignored officials.

The plaintiffs in the civil case allege Pembina Trails failed to adequately address the parents’ concerns, thereby permitting McKay to continue abusing students.

“(The division) failed to take all necessary precautions in evaluating McKay’s propensity to engage in the inappropriate behaviour and other abusive behaviour thereby neglecting the overall safety of students and players,” the lawsuit claims.

The court filings allege Pembina Trails is vicariously liable for what its employees did or didn’t do to protect the plaintiffs.

The lawsuit accuses Pembina Trails of being negligent and failing its duty to its students by not supervising and monitoring McKay.

It also alleges the division failed to put in place a reporting system, failed to recognize McKay’s patterns of inappropriate behaviour, failed to warn parents and students once officials became aware of his behaviour and failed to sufficiently investigate the allegations levied against him.

Pembina Trails knew, or should have known, McKay had a propensity for “deviant behaviours,” the lawsuit claims.

It says other staff had raised concerns with officials who were aware of McKay’s personal, sexual and emotional difficulties, and of the frequency with which McKay got involved with players out of school, the unusual interest he took in them and the frequency of outings he took with them alone.

The plaintiffs claim they have suffered mental anguish and other problems as a result of Pembina Trail’s failures and negligence.

They are seeking unspecified monetary damages, including the costs of medication and counselling.

The lawsuit argues Pembina Trails’ “harsh, high-handed, blameworthy” conduct that “ignored the best interests of the plaintiffs” merits punishment with aggravated or punitive damages.

Following a motion from Ferbers, King’s Bench Justice Herbert Rempel ordered the plaintiffs’ affidavits be sealed and that they be solely referred to by their initials in publicly available court filings.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca