It’s hard to get sued if you are a conservative coach and pull a football player out at the first sign of concussion.
That would seem to be the message in a recent lawsuit filed this fall in California
Specifically, John “Trey” Enloe III, 18, sued the San Diego Unified School District and one of its coaches in San Diego Superior Court, alleging negligence as well as failing to both recognize the signs of his injury and to follow safe and proper coaching protocol.
Enloe was playing for La Jolla High School’s junior varsity team when he suffered a concussion in an Oct. 16, 2014 game. He allegedly exhibited “a headache and nausea, and was noticeably rattled, confused and unable to follow simple direction. Yet, an assistant coach allegedly told him to “suck it up” and return to the game. The plaintiff returned and “suffered traumatic brain injury as a result of the multiple hits,” according to William M. Berman of Berman & Riedel, LLP, who is representing the plaintiff. Furthermore, he “continues to experience problems that have affected his health and educational goals.”
In the time since the incident and the lawsuit, the district has reportedly updated its concussion policies to require that all coaches pass a concussion course administered by the California Interscholastic Association. In addition, the assistant coach was suspended for two games and has not returned to coaching in the district, according to the lawyer.
“When you start letting coaches inflict their personal desires to win at all costs that is when we have problems,” said. Berman. “This is a case, in part, about not properly educating coaches — but also the coaches” acting negligently.
