College Football's Avalanche of Lawsuits
Zack Langston, 26, shot himself in the chest so his brain could be studied.
The former Pittsburg State University football star ended his life nearly four years ago, convinced the repeated collisions he endured at practices and games had resulted in memory loss, paranoia and his suicidal tendencies. Langston's story is detailed in court filings, part of a lawsuit by his family against the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the athletic conference that Pittsburg belongs to, the Division II Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA).
Langston turned out to be right -- posthumously, he was diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, a brain disease often found in athletes who have experienced frequent blows to the head. One study of professional football players’ brains found nearly all of them suffered from CTE -- 110 out of the 111 former National Football League players’ brains studied exhibited the disease.
Many others besides Langston's family have similarly sued the NCAA, seeking damages for former players and alleging they still bear the effects of concussions.
Last year, the Associated Press reported that the NCAA faced 43 lawsuits filed by Edelson PC, the firm representing Langton’s case. Subsequently more than 100 plaintiffs have joined the lawsuits against the association and sometimes against conferences or individual institutions. The legal challenge is part of a broader effort to pursue a class-action suit against the NCAA and to force it to pay for medical expenses for treating brain injuries. Four sample cases have been selected.
The case still needs to be classified as a class-action suit and remains in its early stages.
Academics and experts have pondered whether the pressure will eventually lead the NCAA to endorse major reforms.
Read the full story on Inside Higher Ed by Jeremy Bauer-Wolf here: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/12/01/avalanche-football-related-concussion-lawsuits-against-ncaa-and-conferences-could