The NCAA was found to be negligent in failing to warn a former South Carolina State football player about the long-term effects of concussions, a state jury ruled, resulting in a combined $18 million award to the former player and his wife.
An Orangeburg County jury delivered the verdict following a civil trial in which lawyers for Robert Geathers, 68, and his wife, Debra, argued that the NCAA was aware of the potential lasting dangers of concussions but did not share those safety concerns until after Geathers’ career ended.
“All the information they knew, they withheld,” attorney Bakari Sellers told jurors, per the Associated Press, claiming the NCAA had known about concussion risks since the 1930s.
Geathers was a defensive end at South Carolina State from 1977 to 1980.
During the trial, physicians testified that Geathers shows symptoms of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain condition that occurs after repeated head injuries.
Diagnosed with dementia in 2017, Geathers is unable to hold a job, dress himself or make a meal due to severe memory loss issues and other physical ailments, according to multiple reports.
Attorneys for Geathers and his wife argued these symptoms are the result of head injuries sustained during his football career that caused trauma he was unaware of at the time and resulted in symptoms that didn’t show up until decades after he last played college football.
The jury ruled the NCAA “unreasonably increased the risk of harm of head impacts to Robert Geathers over and above the risks inherent to playing football” and that the NCAA “voluntarily assumed duties to protect the health and safety of Robert Geathers” and that the NCAA “negligently breached their duties” to him.
The NCAA can appeal the verdict, which NCAA spokesperson Greg Johnson said the organization disagreed with, citing the results of multiple similar lawsuits.
The “NCAA has prevailed in every other jury trial around the country on these issues,” Johnson said, per the AP, and is “prepared to pursue our rights on post-trial motions and on appeal, if necessary.”
Geathers was awarded $10 million as a result of the civil trial and his wife was awarded $8 million for the loss of consortium.
The Geathers have two sons who played defensive end in the NFL. Robert Geathers Jr. played 11 seasons for the Cincinnati Bengals from 2004-14. Clifton Geathers played in 37 games for five teams from 2010-14.
