ROCKVILLE, Md. (CN) - A college football player died of brain injuries caused by his coaches' ill-advised and abusive "gladiatorial" high-speed contact drills, his mother claims in a lawsuit against the NCAA and a helmet maker.
Kristen Sheely sued the NCAA, Kranos Corp. dba Schutt Sports, and two coaches and an athletic trainer at Frostburg State University, in Montgomery County Court.
Her son, Derek Sheely, 22, was a two-time all-conference senior at Frostburg State, in Maryland, when he died on Aug. 22, 2011.
Defendants include head football coach Thomas Rogish, assistant football coach Jamie Schumacher, and assistant trainer Michael Sweitzer Jr. Frostburg State itself is not a party to the lawsuit.
Sheely claims her son was wearing an improperly fitted Schutt helmet when Frostburg State started two-a-day preseason practices, on Aug. 19, 2011.
A Schutt representative told university administrators that the helmet could "prevent head injuries," according to the lawsuit.
But Sheely claims her son and his teammates were "deceived by Schutt Sports." She claims that Schutt failed to adequately test the helmet, which did not minimize or reduce significant impacts.
"Strapped with a new sense of false security, Derek reasonably believed that his new armor could prevent head injuries," his mother says in the complaint.
Derek Sheely was a fullback. His mother claims in the lawsuit that "Preseason practices at Frostburg served more as a gladiatorial thrill for the coaches than learning sessions for the players. Practice involved virtually unlimited, full-contact, helmet-to-helmet collisions. One of Derek's teammates described the demeanor of the practices leading up to Derek's fatal injury as completely 'out of control.' Within a three-and-a-half-day period, Derek and his teammates were exposed to more than 13 hours of full-contract drills - significantly increasing the risk of concussions and repetitive head trauma."
The complaint continues: "On the morning of August 19, 2011, defendant Schumacher instructed the fullbacks and tailbacks to engage in a drill that has been criticized by certain National Football League teams and other leagues as extremely dangerous, intolerable and meaningless.
"The drill is similar to the so-called 'Oklahoma Drill' - but even more dangerous. The fullback and tailback line up behind the quarterback. A linebacker stands approximately six-ten yards away from the fullback. The linebacker is not allowed to defend himself; instead he is required to stand upright and 'act like a dummy.' The quarterback hands the ball off to the tailback, and the fullback and the linebacker are required to smash into each other at full speed (the 'Drill'). If the linebacker attempts to defend himself, or the fullback does not run full speed into the linebacker, defendant Schumacher would require the players to repeat the drill.
"The Drill continues for approximately 15 minutes with very little, and at times, no rest. During the course of the drill, each player takes approximately 30-40 sub-concussive, or concussive, blows to the head.
"The Drill had a reputation among the players as being 'ridiculously dangerous.' Players warned each other about the Drill, and, in fact players quit the team due to its propensity to cause injuries.
"Prior to the 2011 season, the coaches knew that the Drill increased the risks of concussions. At least one player during the 2010 season suffered a concussion while performing the Drill.