NCAA not liable in widow’s $55 million concussion legal responsibility go well with, jury says By Reuters

By Jack Queen

(Reuters) – The Nationwide Collegiate Athletic Affiliation on Tuesday beat a $55 million lawsuit introduced by the widow of a former College Southern California linebacker who mentioned the group did not adequately shield her husband from concussions.

A jury in California state court docket dominated in opposition to Alana Gee on her claims that the NCAA did not take cheap precautions round concussions and educate gamers on the hazards of repeated head collisions. Her husband, Matthew Gee, performed at USC from 1988 to 1992 and died in 2018 after allegedly affected by the mind situation persistent traumatic encephalopathy.

The landmark case was the primary to check whether or not the NCAA could possibly be held answerable for traumatic mind accidents suffered by gamers, legal professionals mentioned.

The NCAA’s senior vice chairman of authorized affairs and basic counsel, Scott Bearby, mentioned in an announcement Tuesday that the group has a protracted observe file of enhancing participant security.

“The NCAA bore no duty for Mr. Gee’s tragic demise, and moreover, the case was not supported by medical science linking Mr. Gee’s demise to his faculty soccer profession,” Bearby mentioned.

Alana Gee’s legal professionals didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.

Matthew Gee died of a coronary heart assault introduced on by hypertension in addition to cocaine and alcohol toxicity, in keeping with a coroner’s report. Alana Gee’s legal professionals mentioned his substance abuse and well being issues stemmed from CTE.

Checks of Gee’s mind tissue following his demise concluded that he suffered from CTE and that this “seemingly contributed” to his cognitive decline, in keeping with Alana Gee’s November 2020 lawsuit.

“Had the NCAA disclosed the reality to Matthew Gee, he would have, at minimal, taken extra precautions to guard his head and in any other case guarantee his security whereas taking part in soccer,” the lawsuit mentioned.

The NCAA’s legal professionals argued over the month-long trial in Los Angeles Superior Court docket that the group took cheap precautions round head trauma and couldn’t have executed something to stop Gee’s demise, which they disputed was associated to CTE.