Indiana Courts Find NCAA Not Liable in Grand Valley State Case
In the last 20 years, the NCAA has gotten a lot of flak for injury education and the care they give to injured athletes. Many athletes have been injured over the course of their time playing college athletics and for the most part, have no compensation for what they describe as negligence.
One widow of a former Grand Valley State University football player became one of the most recent individuals to file a lawsuit and appear in court against the sports conglomerate. Searching for not only some type of compensation for her late husband's troubles but also for some accountability to be taken by the NCAA.
Unfortunately, this turned out a lot like many of the other cases from the past. Many people have taken legal action against not only the NCAA but other sports businesses like the NFL and some have won, but most have come out on the wrong side. It seems that proving that these entities were negligent or at fault for injuries is EXTREMELY difficult.
Cullen Finnerty was a Quarterback for the Grand Valley State Lakers during the early 2000s and led them to 3 national titles, but in the process, he suffered many concussions and other small blows to the head. He went on to develop CTE and lost his life after going missing on a family trip in 2013.
Mr. Finnerty's wife decided to file in the Indiana courts for negligence stating that the NCAA wasn't completely honest and didn't fully explain the consequences of playing college football. In the end, the Marion, Indiana jury found that the NCAA is not liable and there is no medical evidence to show that Cullen's death was related to his college football playing days.
This is an ongoing issue as the NCAA is still in dozens of cases surrounding this same subject, putting more eyeballs on the situation and NCAA as a whole. Although Mr. Finnerty's family didn't get the result they are looking for, we send condolences.