Yes. I wonder why they are not considering other lawsuits that might arise?
Should the NCAA be responsible for testing for every possible problem or condition? Should Universities in general be required to test for everything or even ask students about medical conditions, drug use, family problems? I mean I hope the family is doing that, but if not should the NCAA have to require it and who makes the call if the condition keeps the athlete off the field?
I think there is only so much they can do. When my daughter played in Florida, athletes were getting heat stroke (and a few died) so they implemented rules about not having practices when the temps (including field temps )were above a certain degree, and also mandatory water breaks, even during games (wasnât always fair to stop the flow of the game for a refereeâs time out). But it was a needed fix so they did it. (Gatorade could only do so much).
Sometimes the physicals work. In David Carleâs case, it was his NHL physical that saved him, but he was on his way to play for DU (and Iâm thinking an EKG wasnât required by the NCAA)
"DUâs menâs hockey coach, David Carle, was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy in 2008, which forced him to retire as a player before his freshman season. HCM is a condition where the heart muscle thickens, making it harder for the heart to pump blood. Carle was diagnosed after an EKG was performed during the NHL combine Despite the diagnosis, he was drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Carle was honored with a scholarship and joined the University of Denver hockey program as a student assistant coach, later becoming the head coach"
Soccer son gets a full work up at school during preseason. We needed to have him tested for sickle cell prior to his arrival freshman year.
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In our litigious society, I suspect that they should probably test for a variety of conditions (perhaps more than are currently required). And then if a player chooses to play, they (and whoever their legal guardians were prior to them turning 18) would need to sign as well. But students would then be able to weigh the risks for themselves and make a decision accordingly.
And there should not just be a paper handed over to be signed, but a discussion of the various risks, kind of like how doctors go through all the risks of an operation with the patient ahead of time in the presence of a third party to make sure that the patient fully understands what they are signing. (Guardian signatures would not be needed for individuals who were legally emancipated prior to 18.) This, of course, is coming from someone with no professional legal background, but I suspect that getting the signatures would be enough to cover the university from liability suits, should anything happen. Because itâs not fair to students to have millions of dollars of their tuition money paying for these lawsuits when it could be spent on other things that would affect their college education.
Same for my kid.
Many (all?) colleges require varsity athletes to sign waivers/assumption of risk documents related to playing their sport and these typically have the athlete agree to not hold the college responsible for injuries and such. As all of us know though, sometimes the enforceability of said waivers isnât always strong and can depend on the specific circumstances of the incident, for example if there was negligence, unsafe conditions, defective equipment, etc. then, well, those waivers arenât going to protect the school from lawsuits.
My kids both received fairly thorough physicals each year they played in college, including an ECG/EKG. I canât say they received âfull workupsâ because that would include blood work and other tests that would be cost and/or time prohibitive to run. I canât remember what we did for sickle cellâŠI bet we waived that (both were first years before NCAA discontinued the use of the waiver for the SCT test in 2022)
I just had a âfull work upâ including a fairly complete blood/Urine panel (plus EKG) and most of the results came in the day after, with the rest two days later. I agree that labs are expensive, but anyone claiming that it takes too long for results⊠hmmm⊠Iâm suspicious.
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I said blood work and other tests, and I did not say the issue was results would take too long. To be more clear, I was talking about things like echocardiograms, other pulmonary function testing, MRIs, chest xrays and the likeâŠthe time it would take to do them all would be prohibitive (as would the cost.) I am not advocating that these tests be done for all NCAA varsity athletes because I donât think itâs necessary even though performing more tests would catch more conditions that may make an athlete âat-risk.â I was merely pointing out that IMO my kids didnât receive âfull workupsâ as part of their college varsity athlete physicals.
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gotcha.
Clearly an MRI is over the top for a teenager absent an actual risk factorâŠ
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I asked my daughter and she said she did have a sickle cell test once she arrived at college. Since she was 17, I guess I signed for it. She argued about it because she hate needles so didnât want to do it.
Signing a waiver isnât going to prevent law suits. A student/family could (and will) argue that they didnât understand the waiver, that even though they had had a heart transplant that they didnât know working out in 100 degree heat could be harmful, that the condition didnât cause the injury or death but that something else the coach did caused the injury or death. You often canât waive liability.
As an old boss said, âAnyone with $25 and the address of the courthouse can sue you.â (much more than $25 needed now). Itâs not possible to protect against all law suits
I donât think they could test for everything without a huge cost, either to the athlete or the school that in most cases isnât necessary. Most 16-25 year olds donât need a lot of expensive tests. David Carle got his EKG and other heart tests because he was entering the NHL combine and the NHL can afford them, and they would be investing a lot of money into any athlete who was drafted.
Yes, most colleges due to accept documentation of sickle testing at birth. My daughter called the pediatricianâs office and asked them to print out proof/documentation of it. It was very simple.
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