NCAA ordered to pay $18M in concussion lawsuit

"ORANGEBURG, S.C. -- The NCAA owes a former college football player and his wife $18 million, a South Carolina jury decided while finding college sports' major governing body negligent in failing to warn the player about the long-term effects of concussions. Following a civil trial that wrapped up late last week, Orangeburg County jurors awarded $10 million to 68-year-old Robert Geathers, who played at South Carolina State University from 1977 to 1980 as a defensive end."

"A physician diagnosed Robert Geathers with dementia several years ago, The Times and Democrat newspaper in Orangeburg reported. Now he has trouble with day-to-day tasks such as dressing himself and helping making meals. Other physicians who testified at the trial said Geathers displays symptoms of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease found in former football players who received repeated blows to their heads while playing. CTE can be diagnosed only posthumously."

"The couple's attorneys argued to jurors that blows Geathers took during practices and games for the historically Black school in Orangeburg caused trauma that didn't show up until decades later, the newspaper reported. Geathers attorney Bakari Sellers alleged the NCAA knew about concussion risks since the 1930s but didn't tell coaches or players about those risks until later. "All of the information they knew, they withheld," Sellers told jurors, adding that "their job was to keep the boys safe.""

A jury in Orangeburg County awarded $10 million to former South Carolina State defensive end Robert Geathers and $8 million to his wife after finding the NCAA negligent for not warning about long-term concussion effects. Geathers has been diagnosed with dementia and experiences significant daily impairments. Physicians who testified reported symptoms consistent with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which can only be diagnosed after death. Attorneys argued repeated blows during practices and games caused trauma that manifested decades later, and alleged the NCAA knew about concussion risks for decades but withheld information. The NCAA disagreed and indicated plans to pursue post-trial motions and appeal.

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