A surfing standout from Long Beach has filed a lawsuit against the city’s school district, accusing them of failing to protect him before he was allegedly attacked by two of his teammates.
William Frey, 17, claims he was brutally beaten by two of his fellow Wilson High School surf team members in April 2025 amid a dispute over one of their family members.
The lawsuit, seen by The Daily Mail, alleges that Owen Keller was upset with Frey because he was hanging out with his younger sister, Ainsley. Reports have emerged suggesting Ainsley was 15 years old at the time of the incident, but The Daily Mail understands she was 14.
Frey is said to have been at his family home with Keller’s sister on April 17 when she received a call from her brother demanding to know where she was and threatening his teammate.
‘Tell that motherf***er that if you’re with him, I’m gonna beat the s*** out of him because I’m not f***ing playing,’ Keller allegedly said per the complaint.
He is then alleged to have turned up at Frey’s home yelling: ‘Let me in the f***ing house right now William, I’m going to f***ing kill you.’
After breaking the bottom window of the backdoor and being ordered off the property by an unnamed adult, Keller returned 30 minutes later with two other members of the surf team in Samuel Katz and Joseph Ziroli, the court papers claim. The trio are further accused in the civil complaint of entering the home through a broken back door and shouting: ‘We’re going to ruin your life.’
Wilson High School surfer William Frey has filed a lawsuit after allegedly being attacked by members of his team
Frey, 17, claims he was assaulted by Owen Keller (right) amid a dispute over his 15-year-old sister Ainsley (left)
The complaint then claims that they found Frey hiding in the garage after Katz allegedly kicked in the bottom panel of its door to enter.
Keller is accused of telling Ziroli to ‘record this s***’ before he and Katz punched Frey in the head repeatedly and kicked him, with the pair allegedly striking him 15 to 20 times each, the lawsuit says.
Like Keller, Katz and Ziroli are also named defendants in the lawsuit. Ziroli’s father has denied his son took part in the beating despite recording it.
The complaint claims that after bystanders pulled the three attackers off him, Frey fled down the street as the trio allegedly chased him in a white Volkswagen, before he found refuge in a neighbor’s yard.
The teenager eventually made it back home after sustaining red bruises across his back and two one-inch cuts and swelling to his head, according to the lawsuit.
It also claims that his home suffered more than $5,000 in damage as a result of the attack, which includes a broken TV.
Keller is accused of continuing to threaten Frey after the attack, including with a text message which read: ‘You got more to come.’
The lawsuit also claims that footage of the assault was posted on the surf team’s Snapchat channel and also ‘circulated among the broader school community.’
Frey’s mom, Celinda Bradley, reportedly told Wilson High principal Rebecca Caverly that Keller was still making threats five days after the attack, even sharing evidence of his threats with her.
That allegedly included audio of him saying: ‘We’ll just get you at school.’
Ainsley pictured with her older brother and Frey after a competition in January 2025
Both Caverly and assistant principal Keith Roberson have been named defendants in the suit. Roberson is accused of telling Bradley that he could not intervene as the assault had occurred off campus, according to the complaint.
Frey was granted a temporary restraining order against his three alleged attackers by LA Superior Court on April 25, 2025, but he allegedly continued to be harassed by classmates who branded him a ‘pedophile’ due to his friendship with 15-year-old Ainsley, the lawsuit says.
Though despite that restraining order all of the students were allowed to participate in surf class, meaning the Long Beach Unified School district ‘failed to implement any meaningful measures to enforce them,’ the lawsuit claims. The temporary orders were eventually dismissed.
On May 5, an anonymous death threat was allegedly submitted through Wilson High School’s official ‘Say Something’ reporting application, reading: ‘I’m going to kill William Frey,’ per the complaint.
The threat prompted the school to put together a ‘safety plan’ for Frey to arrive 10 minutes late and leave 10 minutes early each day.
Frey is said to have ‘isolated himself socially’ and ‘suffered severe mental health consequences’ due to the ordeal. Keller, Katz and Ziroli were allegedly free to continue attending all classes and participate in surf team activities, meaning he felt ‘unable to safely attend these same events’, the court filing says.
Frey has since relocated from Long Beach and is attending college in a new city.
In a statement provided to the Daily Mail, the Long Beach Unified School District said it ‘takes allegations involving student safety and student well-being seriously.’
‘Given pending litigation and confidential student matters, the District has nothing further to add,’ the statement added.
When contacted by The Daily Mail, Owen Keller declined to comment and Samuel Katz didn’t respond.
Requests for comment from Wilson High principal Rebecca Caverly and assistant principal Keith Roberson were also not immediately returned.
