For the first time ever in the United States, a lawsuit would hold football organizers responsible for players' long-term brain injuries.
A lawsuit against the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) claims the organization knew about players suffering from long-term brain injuries.
Jury selection started yesterday in the nation's first chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) trial.
Sports Talk 790 “In the Trenches” co-host Greg Koch, is also a lawyer.
“I would want to know when the NCAA knew about concussions and its long-term effect on players, or even sub-concussive events,” said Koch. “As an athlete, they’ve all been lying to us. But, it’s not what we know, it’s what can we prove. And, that’s the problem,” said Koch.
Former Pittsburg State linebacker Zack Langston was 26 when he committed suicide and wanted his brain studied for evidence of CTE. Now, his case against the NCAA is included in a class-action lawsuit potentially involving thousands of former players.
In a Dallas courtroom, Debra Hardin-Ploetz’s attorneys will argue that the NCAA is legally responsible for her husband, Greg's, death.
Five decades after Julius Whittier became the first black football letterman in Texas Longhorns history, he has Alzheimer’s disease. His sister, Mildred, filed a lawsuit against the NCAA on behalf of her brother.
“It’s a brutal afterlife. You know, you expect to have knee surgery, or broken bones and things like that. But, you don’t expect to lose your sense of smell. You don’t expect to sleep walk and throw yourself out of bed once or twice a month,” said Koch.
Koch, a former offensive lineman for Green Bay Packers suffers from multiple ailments such as these.
An outcome favoring the plaintiffs could cause significant changes for the sport and the NCAA.