Family of Dead Football Player Sues Maryland College Coaches, NCAA
Family alleges that football player died while playing with a concussion.
Aug. 29, 2013— -- The family of a Maryland college football player who died of a sports-related brain injury has sued his coaches, the National Collegiate Athletic Association and a football helmet manufacturer, citing negligence, wrongful death and disregard for safety.
The parents of Derek Sheely, a 22-year-old fullback at Frostburg State University, who died on Aug. 28, 2011, claim that their son was forced to continue with two-a-day preseason practice sessions in August 2011, even though he was bleeding from the forehead.
They also claim that Sheely's coaches at Frostburg discouraged student athletes from complaining about injuries, and refused to check Sheely's head for serious medical complications despite the bleeding.
The family's lawsuit, filed on Aug. 22 in Circuit Court for Montgomery County, came the same week that the National Football League agreed to pay players who had sustained brain injuries from football $765 million, settling a years-long conflict over whether the NFL knowingly ignored brain trauma in its players.
Kristen Sheely and Kenneth Sheely, Derek's parents, along with his sister, Keyton Sheely, brought the lawsuit against Derek's head coach, Thomas Rogish, and three other coaches and athletic trainers, the NCAA and the Kranos Corp., which made the team's helmets.
Sheely's parents said in the lawsuit that the coaches "marginalized injuries, punished players for disclosing them and challenged players to play through pain."
The suit alleges that two of Sheely's teammates had concussions during the same drill in the days before Sheely's death, and one of them suffered permanent cognitive impairment.
The day Sheely died he had engaged in 13 hours of full-contact drills in a three-and-a-half day period, according to the suit. The drills consisted of fullbacks running full-speed into halfbacks and crashing into them headfirst.
"It is inconceivable to us how, with all the attention on concussions, there is still no unified enforcement to prevent dangerous drills, stop false safety claims or ensure proper medical attention to concussed athletes," the Sheelys said in the court filing.
"We are haunted by the knowledge that Derek's death was preventable, and we feel an obligation to share lessons that could prevent other children from suffering Derek's fate," they said.
Rogish and the Kranos Corp. did not return calls from ABCNews requesting comment. Frostburg State University told ABC news it had no comment at this time.
The NCAA said it was saddened by Sheely's death but disagreed with the allegations, according to The Associated Press.
The Sheely's are seeking at least $1 million in damages.
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