Report: Ex-Texas WR Limas Sweed files concussion suit vs. NCAA
Former Texas wide receiver Limas Sweed has reportedly filed a $5 million suit alleging negligence against the NCAA because of concussions he suffered while playing and practicing for the Longhorns.
Per TMZ, Sweed says he’s suffering from mental health issues and directly attributes them to inadequate head injury protocols and treatment when he was at Texas.
In his suit, Sweed says ... "While playing at Texas, [Sweed] suffered from numerous concussions, as well as countless sub-concussive hits as part of routine practice and gameplay."
Sweed says when he took a large blow to the head, he would be sent back into the game (or practice) after an "inadequate amount of time."
As a result of repeated damage he took, Sweed now claims he suffers from depression, headaches, memory loss, mood swings, emotional instability, motor impairment and more.
‘Very difficult cases’
Sweed is just the latest former college athlete to file a concussion-centered lawsuit that names the NCAA. The lawsuit count against the NCAA stood at over 300 in early February. Concussion suits against the sanctioning body first started in 2016 as people started to become more aware of the dangers of head trauma.
The director of Tulane’s sports law program told the Associated Press in February that concussion suits were “very difficult.”
“These are very difficult cases,” Gabe Feldman told the AP. “They're difficult because in many of the cases the plaintiff is clearly suffering and the plaintiff has clearly suffered harm. But the challenge is proving that the NCAA, the member institution or the conference or some combination caused that harm and had some legal duty to the plaintiff and breached that duty. Each factor of the analysis could be difficult for the plaintiff to prove. Perhaps the most difficult is the causation piece.”
Sweed’s best season was in 2006
Sweed played at Texas from 2004-07 and was part of the Vince Young-led team that beat USC for the 2005 national title. He had 124 catches for 1,915 yards and 20 touchdowns over his four years with the Longhorns. His best season came as a junior when he had 46 catches for 801 yards and 12 scores.
Sweed’s pro career lasted just two seasons and had seven catches for 69 yards for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports.
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