The family of Bennie Abram, a University of Mississippi football player who died after an offseason workout, has named Ole Miss Head Football Coach Houston Nutt, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the University of Mississippi and other defendants in a wrongful death suit.
Those remaining defendants are the university’s board of trustees, Ole Miss athletic department medical director Dr. Jeffrey Dennis, strength and conditioning coach Don Decker, the UMAA Foundation (the Ole Miss athletic booster club) and Baptist Memorial Hospital in Oxford, Miss.
Two months prior to the filing, the Abram family had tipped its hand when its legal representatives, the Lanier Law Firm, had announced a Notice of Claim, which is a statutory prerequisite to filing a lawsuit against a public entity in Mississippi.
Abram, a walk-on junior defensive back, was participating in the first day of spring practice on Feb. 19, 2010, when he collapsed. Allegedly, athletic trainers treated him on the field before he was taken to Baptist Memorial Hospital in Oxford, Miss. He was reportedly conscious when he arrived at the hospital, where he went into cardiac arrest and died six hours later.
An autopsy reportedly showed that the 20-year-old’s death was due to complications from sickle cell trait (SCT) with exertion as well as a contributing factor of cardiomegaly, an inflammation of the heart.
The lawsuit claims that coaches, trainers and athletic department officials at Ole Miss violated NCAA guidelines covering the intensity of spring practices, particularly for players with the sickle cell trait like Abram. The lawsuit also alleges that the NCAA failed to implement adequate guidelines for off-season practices and to sanction coaches who violated existing guidelines.
“Buster’s death is a tragedy that should have been prevented,” said Gene Egdorf of The Lanier Law Firm, who represents the Abram family along with Merrida “Buddy” Coxwell and Charles R. “Chuck” Mullins of Coxwell & Associates, PLLC, in Jackson, Miss. “Every sickle cell expert in the world will tell you that the only way this trait can cause a student-athlete’s death is when they are put through overly strenuous workouts like the one Bennie went through before he died. The negligence of the NCAA, coaches, trainers and staff combined with senseless off-season workout programs is a recipe for disaster. We will fight to change this cycle just like we did when we got the NCAA to change its rules to mandate sickle cell testing.”
Egdorf and The Lanier Law Firm noted in a press release that his firm had previously negotiated a landmark 2009 settlement with the NCAA following the death of Rice University student-athlete Dale R. Lloyd II, who also had sickle cell trait.
“As a result of the litigation and settlement, the NCAA agreed for the first time to include in the NCAA Website and the NCAA Sports Medical Handbook a recommendation that university athletic departments test all athletes for the sickle cell trait,” according to the firm. “The NCAA also agreed to insert a ‘Point of Emphasis’ regarding sickle cell testing in its Football Rulebook in conjunction with a press conference to highlight the policy change. In addition, the NCAA produced an educational video for coaches, athletic trainers and student athletes about the dangers of the sickle cell trait.”
Ole Miss Athletic Director Pete Boone acknowledged in a statement released by the school that “Bennie’s death was a tragedy.” He also added: “Because the care and well-being of our student-athletes is paramount, when we received notice several weeks ago that the family may file a lawsuit, the University asked the Abrams’ lawyer for any information that might help us provide better care for our student-athletes. But Mr. (Gene) Egdorf has refused to do so. Although we have not seen the complaint yet, we have carefully reviewed the facts of the tragic loss and the assertions in Mr. Egdorf’s notice letters. All of the actions taken by our medical professionals, athletics trainers and coaches met or exceeded best practices.”
University attorney Lee Tyner added that he had carefully reviewed the allegations contained in Mr. Egdorf’s notice letters and stated, “We are prepared to defend the good work of our coaches and the care provided by our medical team.”
NCAA Director of Public and Media Relations Erik Christianson also issued a statement with regard to the litigation:
“The NCAA Sports Medicine Handbook includes specific recommendations for coaches and athletic trainers in working with student-athletes who have sickle cell trait. In addition, all incoming Division I student-athletes are required to take a sickle cell solubility test before athletics participation, unless they can prove they have been tested or sign a waiver opting out of the test. The NCAA also provides numerous educational materials on sickle cell trait for its members. Given all that the NCAA has done to educate on and reduce the risk of the sickle cell trait to the student-athlete, we are surprised that the plaintiffs have targeted their lawsuit against us.”
