Judge denies NCAA's judgment in wrongful death case
A wrongful death case vs. the NCAA could be heading to trial after a judge has denied the NCAA's summary judgment.
The suit was filed in 2013 following the death of Division III Frostburg State football player Derek Sheely in 2011. Seely died after he collapsed and died during practice in August of 2011 following a head injury. Sheely's family filed the lawsuit two years later and it lists the NCAA, Frostburg State's coach and running backs coach, the school's trainer and Schutt (the manufacturer of the helmet Sheely was wearing) as defendants.
His parents have said second-impact syndrome contributed to Sheely's death. Second-impact syndrome is when the brain suffers a concussion before a previous concussion has fully healed, leading to brain swelling. The lawsuit alleges that FSU's staff neglected to properly treat Sheely for a concussion and the NCAA didn't investigate the circumstances surrounding his death.
The NCAA had argued to Montgomery County (Maryland) circuit court judge David Boynton that as a sports organization, it had no responsibility to protect players from suffering injuries while playing football. However, Boynton used the NCAA's mission statement against the sanctioning body in denying the argument
The NCAA argued that since it's a sports organization it has no legal duty to protect college athletes. Boynton acknowledged that is true under Maryland law for sports organizations, but determined the NCAA has a “special relationship” since its mission statement is to protect college athletes. Boynton said since the syndrome is not an obvious risk in football, a legal duty to warn exists, and there's enough dispute in the Sheely case for a jury to hear the arguments.
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The NCAA's mission statement says its purpose "is to govern competition in a fair, safe, equitable and sportsmanlike manner, and to integrate intercollegiate athletics into higher education so that the educational experience of the student-athlete is paramount." It had made its argument citing a 1994 Maryland Court of Appeals case that explained why organizations weren't liable.
Since the judgment was denied, a trial could be held this summer, according to CBS. Boynton also denied a summary judgment motion by the members of the Frostburg State staff.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
