Lawsuit Against Hinsdale D-86 'Blatantly Untrue'

HINSDALE, IL — Patrice Wilson, the former longtime assistant girls track coach at Hinsdale Central High School, says a former student had no basis for a lawsuit against her and the school district.

"The lawsuit is blatantly untrue," Wilson said in an interview late last week. "That's the one statement I'll make."

Asked why she resigned a day after the student made a complaint last year, Wilson said she already had transportation issues getting to her coaching job because she had moved to Rockford a few years before.

"I didn't have a car. I was in a car accident, and I was forced to rent a car," Wilson said.

She said that when the school asked her to come in for a meeting associated with the complaint, she couldn't get there, saying that is why she resigned.

Earlier this month, Hinsdale High School District 86 settled the case with former student Dina Esposito, with Esposito dropping the lawsuit in exchange for $15,000. Esposito is responsible for her legal fees.

According to the lawsuit, after Esposito, now 19, failed to show up for track practice in January 2019, Wilson took her aside the next day and grabbed her by the shirt, neck and face.

The coach then threatened to choke Esposito if she failed to show up for practice that day, the lawsuit said. Shortly after, Wilson, who then asked Esposito to lift weights, spit on the student as she was spotting her, according to the litigation.

In another incident, Wilson accused Esposito of lying about her race, calling Esposito "Mexican," according to the lawsuit. Esposito said she responded she was bi-racial, both African American and white.

In the interview with Patch, Wilson said, "She sued me for discrimination when I'm also African American."

Wilson described how she believed she was known at the school.

"The kids called me mama," Wilson said. "My reputation around the school was to help everybody and anybody, whether they were black, white, green, pink. It was just to help kids, help them with their grades, help them with school."

She coached at Hinsdale Central for nearly a quarter century.

"Did I make kids toe the line? Absolutely. Did I require kids to be on time? Absolutely. Did I ever hurt anyone? Absolutely not," Wilson said.

Wilson, who is now the head girls track coach at Rockford East High School, said her three children attended Hinsdale Central.

She also said she worked closely with Pat Richards, Hinsdale Central's head girls track coach.

"I got bounced," Wilson said. Esposito "destroyed a partnership that was nearly 25 years old. (Richards) was my best friend."

An attorney for Esposito could not be reached for comment last week. A District 86 spokesman declined to comment on the settlement.