03-12-2009, 11:54 AM
Nope, nothing wrong down there, nothing at all. We'd all like our kids to go to UCF and play for O'liary.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3973607
Quote:The parents of a University of Central Florida football player who died last year following an offseason conditioning session have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the school.
The suit, filed Thursday in the Ninth Judicial Court of Orange County, Fla., alleges that as redshirt freshman wide receiver Ereck Plancher struggled and collapsed during an intense workout on March 18, the response of coaches and trainers was to "make him stand up and complete the drills." Plancher, players later told ESPN, collapsed a second time at the end of the workout, which the lawsuit states included intense exercises known as "mat drills." Plancher died about an hour later. His parents, Enoch and Gisele, are seeking unspecified damages.
The university has stated a review of the incident showed that coaches and staff reacted appropriately.
A subsequent ESPN "Outside the Lines" investigation raised questions about UCF's handling of the situation before, during and after Plancher's collapse.
An autopsy revealed that Plancher suffered from sickle cell trait, an inherited condition that, if not attended to properly, can cause serious problems during high-intensity workouts. Coaches and trainers were aware that Plancher had the trait, which has been cited in the deaths of at least 10 young athletes since 2000.
The lawsuit claims UCF was negligent in several areas, including not providing players who had sickle cell trait with sufficient rest and with proper access to fluids.
As a result of the OTL report, the Los Angeles Dodgers have begun testing all their major and minor league players for the trait, according to head athletic trainer Stan Conte. The Dodgers' trainer said he surveyed other teams around the league and found that the Chicago White Sox were the only other team testing for the trait. Conte said didn't hear back from two clubs.
Mark Fainaru-Wada is an investigative reporter for ESPN's enterprise unit. He can be reached at markfwespn@gmail.com.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3973607