Ole Miss Gets Hit with $10M Lawsuit

[Tiger Wench]

And surprisingly not against Nutt for sexual harassment...

Ole Miss to be hit with $10 million lawsuit
Posted on: January 28, 2011 12:09 pm
Posted by Tom Fornelli

Last offseason, Bennie Abram walked on to the Ole Miss football team. Tragically, on February 19, Abram died after running through some agility drills. Coaches noticed Abrams struggling through the drills, and then pulled him out and called 911. Abram was taken to the hospital, but died a few hours later from what the doctors said were problems stemming from sickle cell traits, exertion and an enlarged heart.

Now a lawyer hired on behalf of the Abram family has sent a five-page letter to Ole Miss to let them know that they will be filing a $10 million lawsuit against the school. Mississippi law states that a 90-day notice has to be sent before filing any suit. Gene Egdorf, a lawyer from Lanier Law Firm, had this to say in a press release.

“Student-athletes shouldn’t be dying because of sickle cell,” Egdorf said. “The only reason that it turns fatal is because someone along the way made mistakes or intentionally disregarded the well-established guidelines for training, monitoring, and treating these student-athletes.”

Egdorf alleges that Ole Miss held "recklessly intense" workouts on the morning of Abram's death.

[AU_Tiger_2000]

“Student-athletes shouldn’t be dying because of sickle cell,” Egdorf said. “The only reason that it turns fatal is because someone along the way made mistakes or intentionally disregarded the well-established guidelines for training, monitoring, and treating these student-athletes.”

Any chance that someone was the kid who died?

[Snaggletiger]

In a non-related note, I believe 12 Iowa players are currently hospitalized after a "recklessly intense" workout.  Their wizz was brown. 

[GH2001]

OM should be sued for intentionally attempting to impersonate a football team.

[Saniflush]

They should be sued for not adopting Admiral Ackbar as a mascot.

[RWS]

I don't get it. Are they saying Ole Miss doctors/trainers should have known about this condition somehow? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I would imagine the kid has gone through a physical or two in his lifetime and nobody else picked this condition up. Or are they trying to contend that Nutt is the second coming of Mike Leach?

[Snaggletiger]

I don't get it. Are they saying Ole Miss doctors/trainers should have known about this condition somehow? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I would imagine the kid has gone through a physical or two in his lifetime and nobody else picked this condition up. Or are they trying to contend that Nutt is the second coming of Mike Leach?

Well, the article left out the part about the kid being locked in a tool shed in 103 degree heat. 

[Godfather]

fuckin lawyers

[Snaggletiger]

fuckin lawyers

Who dat call my name?

[Tiger Wench]

I know this came from EDSBS, but they can be serious too - and this sheds some likght on the whole sickle cell thing...

http://www.everydayshouldbesaturday.com/2011/1/27/1959296/iowa-cargo-cults-and-confusing-your-variables#storyjump

Ten FBS players have died in offseason drills since 2000. This is that list, condensed from this list of every FBS or FCS non-traumatic death since 2000.

Devaughn Darling, FSU. Suspected sickle cell link.

Eraste Autin, Florida. Suspected sickle cell link.

Rashidi Wheeler, Northwestern. Asthma.

Jawan Jackson, NIU. Collapsed and died at try-out.

Aaron Richardson, Bowling Green. Exertional sickling brought on by sickle cell trait.

Aaron O'Neal, Missouri. Exertional sickling brought on by sickle cell trait.

Dale Lloyd, Rice. Exertional sickling brought on by sickle cell trait.

Keeley Dorsey, USF. No specific cause, according to medical examiner. Possible congenital heart defect is suspected.

McCollins Umeh, Arizona State. Died during conditioning drill. Later found to have enlarged heart.

Ereck Plancher, UCF. A likely sickle cell case, though still under litigation/investigation.

[snip]

FIRST VARIABLE: SHITTY PROGRAMMING AND OVERSIGHT.

[snip]

THE SECOND AND COMPLETELY DIFFERENT VARIABLE: MEDICAL SCREENING.

The other is the stack of oft-cited dead football players. At the FBS level, the best evidence points to an ongoing lack of supervision of sickle cell cases and congenital heart defects. Sickle Cell is already a mandatory screening for NCAA members, and has been since April 2009. It remains a tricky issue, though. Sickle cell's most pernicious effect is exertional sickling, where red blood cells change shape and block vessels and arteries in intense conditions like those you'd find in off-season conditioning drills.

Heart defects are even trickier to spot, especially given the lack of medical attention many poorer recruits might suffer growing up without access. They also happen to be very subtle in many cases, and may escape detection.

The lone case not covered by these is the asthma-related death of Rashidi Wheeler, which is here, is very sad, and again is a matter of lack of oversight, negligence, and tragedy.

So there: you can pull this apart and actually look at deaths during conditioning as a matter of medical screening and conditioning oversight, or you can just scream AHHH VOICES FROM THE GRAVE and confuse two entirely different variables at the same time in the name of an easy emotional pitch. We didn't think dead young men needed any additional dramatic window dressing, but then again, we're not the ones looking to the sky with the bamboo antenna on, hoping for magic when science will do just fine.

[Tiger Wench]

So if screening has been mandatory since 2009, then Ole Miss can either say they did what they could to screen him, or they will be in deep shit for NOT screening him.