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In a historic win for the NCAA, a Los Angeles jury agreed that the organization is not liable for the death of former USC football player Matthew Gee.
When the wrongful death lawsuit filed by Gee's widow reached jury–the first of its kind after many other similar lawsuits and allegations against the NCAA–it has become a major talking point. After all, the verdict of the trial would have massive implications on the other cases of similar nature against the institution.
The lawsuit alleges that the several hits to the head that Gee endured during his time playing for USC football, from 1988 to 1992, led to the degenerative brain diseases popularly called CTE. The lawsuit also claims that USC was already aware of the consequences of head injuries since the 1930s but didn't do anything to educate their players or help test them for concussion symptoms.
Gee's widow was seeking $55 million to compensate for her painful loss.
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In the end, however, the NCAA gained victory. The governing body of US collegiate sports argued that it had nothing to do with the death of Matthew Gee, who had other health issues. He died of cardiac arrest at age 49.
The organization also noted that that they didn't know about CTE at the time, contrary to the allegations, since the disease was only really first discovered in 2005.
“You can't hold the NCAA responsible for something 40 years later that nobody ever reported,” NCAA attorney Will Stute said in his closing argument during the jury trial, per CBS News. “The plaintiffs want you in a time travel machine. We don't have one … at the NCAA. It's not fair.”
It remains to be seen how this will further impact the other related lawsuits thrown at the NCAA.
