EDITOR'S NOTE: A previous version of this story contained a photo that incorrectly identified a defendant in the lawsuit. The photo has been removed.

A man is suing Delaware State University, saying a feud between the baseball and football teams was fostered by school employees and led to him being battered.

The suit was filed in New Castle County Superior Court recently by Tomiko Saez, who is described as being a resident, student and baseball player for the university when he was beaten by three men on campus in September 2016.

It names as defendants the university and the three men the lawsuit says were involved in the beating — William Burton, Darren Helwig and Patrick Phillips. Court records show Helwig was charged with offensive touching after the incident.

A university spokesman declined comment Friday.

The lawsuit states Saez was approached outside a campus building around 2 a.m. by two then-current football players and one man who was formerly a member of the football team.

An argument led to a fistfight, which led to them beating Saez while he was on the ground. Neither he nor bystanders were able to use an emergency phone nearby because it was inoperable and wrapped in caution tape, the lawsuit states.

The beating required surgery and the installation of screws in his foot. He still feels pain, and suffered permanent damage and the reduced ability to play baseball, the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit adds that the fight was the product of a feud between the baseball and football teams at the university, a rivalry it states was known and encouraged by university officials.

"Some of the staff and even coaches seemed to fuel it," said Andres Gutiérrez de Cos, an attorney representing Saez.

The university's employees "intimated and/or directly stated to football team members that they expected them to be aggressive or dominant in their demeanor toward members of the baseball team," the lawsuit states.

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The lawsuit claims the university was negligent for not fixing the emergency phone, not stamping out the alleged feud between the teams and promoting "a mentality of invincibility among its football players."

"We have concerns with how many security guards they have, with the phone box and other shortcomings," said Gutiérrez de Cos.

The lawsuit seeks compensation for pain and suffering as well as punitive damages.

Contact Xerxes Wilson at (302) 324-2787 or xwilson@delawareonline.com. Follow @Ber_Xerxes on Twitter.