Former Oregon Ducks soccer player Doug Brenner loses NCAA lawsuit; The legal team said it would appeal Friday’s decision
Former Oregon assault manager Doug Brenner lost his case with the NCAA on Friday, due to a jury finding the NCAA was negligent, but did not award Brenner any of the $100 million he was currently holding. seeking damages for injuries he sustained during a controversial training session in 2017.
Brenner’s attorneys argued that his injury occurred because the NCAA did not have a specific rule or statute regarding players overtraining during practice, but the jury did not believe negligence NCAA performance has contributed to them.
Jason Kafoury, one of Brenner’s attorneys, said they would appeal.
“We hope this case is a shot ahead of the NCAA, and that it continues our efforts to protect student-athletes from preventable injuries and deaths,” said Kafoury. “For a case of this caliber to be decided on such technicality is a tragedy.”
“If the NCAA doesn’t change the rules,” he said, “they’re looking at a lot of future lawsuits because we’ve shown in the case that they’ve been informed and that if they don’t act now Now, they’re really reckless.”
A spokesperson for the NCAA did not immediately return a request for comment.
The NCAA has argued that it does not have the authority to pass health and safety laws – schools and convention members are responsible for the health and safety of players.
“Plaintiffs appear to object that the dozens of guidelines and best practices found in the 140-page Handbook of Sports Medicine regarding the conduct of exercise exercises should be monitored, investigated, and implemented.” exam,” the NCAA wrote in the objection. “This is not possible.”
The University of Oregon has reached a $500,000 settlement with Brenner for damages related to his hospitalization, a school spokesman told ESPN on Friday.
As part of the settlement with Oregon, Brenner denied claims against former Oregon coach Willie Taggart, now head coach of the Florida Atlantic, and his former strength coach, Irele Oderinde . A source in South Florida, where Oderinde last worked, told ESPN on Friday night that Oderinde is no longer employed as a strength coach for the women’s basketball team, but has been fired for reasons unrelated to what happened in Oregon.
However, Brenner alluded to Oderinde’s job loss in a statement he provided to Oregon.
“The events surrounding this lawsuit happened many years ago,” Brenner said in a statement shared with ESPN. “As opponents, we all know that, in the heat of battle, everything is said and done in the course of a match, whether it’s on the training ground, the game field or in a lawsuit. I’m sorry to hear that. Coach O is terminated now because of things that happened many years ago After hearing the testimony of Coach T and Coach O, I now understand that the exercises led us to these were meant to be team building exercises and they got out of hand.”
The law firm of Kafoury & McDougal first filed the lawsuit on behalf of Brenner in January 2019 in circuit court in the state of Oregon. Brenner is seeking $20 million in non-economic damages and $5.5 million in economic damages in his lawsuit against Oregon, Taggart and Oderinde. The trial begins April 12.
Oderinde, who was later hired by Taggart at Florida State for the same position, was suspended by Oregon in 2017 for a month without pay after closing Cam McCormick and assault mastermind Sam Poutasi to entry. Hospital with Brenner and had exercise-induced rhabdomyolysis followed shortly after Taggart was hired in Oregon.
According to the lawsuit, the workout lasted between 60 and 90 minutes and the staff “did not have water available in the practice room for at least the first day of the workout.” The lawsuit also says that about 40 players in each group must do “10 perfect push-ups at once,” and that if one of the athletes is out of sync with the rest or fails to use the perfect technique, all athletes must increase-decrease and start the maneuver again.
Brenner, McCormick and Poutasi returned to the team after they were hospitalized, but the incident prompted Oregon to change its reporting system, with strength and conditioning coaches responding to the Ducks’ director of sports science and performance instead. for the head coach.
“I’m deeply sorry that the incident occurred, but I’m glad that many ‘facts’ have been brought out during the proceedings,” Taggart said Thursday in a statement to ESPN. “For now, my whole focus is back on the FAU Football Family and our Student-Athlete.”
According to the Oregonian, the university, Taggart and Oderinde argued during the trial that the practice was excessive, but not intended as punishment. Oderinde apologized in his testimony last week, according to the Oregonian.
“You never want the kids to get injured in any way, especially in practice or even in practice,” Oderinde said Thursday, according to the Oregonian. “But at the same time, you want to push the kids and you want to push them away safely. I feel like with today’s results, I believe Doug understands our intentions were never intended for that, it’s about building young boys and building a team.”
