$140m CTE judgment makes NCAA's other problems seem small | Goodbread
A jury has awarded a $140 million judgment against the NCAA in a concussion-related lawsuit, and suddenly its other problems look much smaller.
The NCAA thought lawsuits over NIL was a problem. It thought eligibility lawsuits were a problem. Then came Davis vs NCAA , and the governing body for college sports learned its troubles run much deeper.
The family of former SMU football player J. T. Davis sued the NCAA in 2020 , alleging negligence in Davis' battle with CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy) dementia, due to concussions sustained during his playing career from 1955-1959.
The family initially sought $1 million, but a Dallas jury last week awarded $140 million , most of it in punitive damages. That's a massive sum that surely sent a chill through the spine of NCAA administrators, and just as surely got the attention of former college athletes suffering from concussion-related symptoms. An appeal is a certainty, but relief isn't.
The NCAA was unprotected by its settlement of a class-action suit in 2014 that brought about concussion protocols in college sports, as that case — Arrington vs. NCAA — did not preclude former athletes from suing for bodily harm individually. That settlement cost the NCAA $75 million, mostly designated for research, protocol establishment, and other proactive steps.