'I Trusted 'Em': When NCAA Schools Abandon Their Injured Athletes

[cruxer]

Here's yet another must-read article (http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/05/i-trusted-em-when-ncaa-schools-abandon-their-injured-athletes/275407/?single_page=true) in The Atlantic about the NCAA and college athletics. Our own Jeff Capel makes an appearance here and at least partially does the right thing for an injured player who had been under his care.

This adds to the ongoing discussion we've had on here about whether or not college athletes are fairly compensated for their contributions to college athletics.

-c

[greybeard]

This is a moral issue for everyone, fans included. The lawsuits have begun. A small school quarterback who had gotten into Princeton got concussed so he cannot retain information, cannot hold a job, etc. He asked his school for assistance with medical, rehab and other related costs. The school refused. He sued. See Real Sports archives for the story. Someone will bring a class action, maybe a consortium of class action firms that can foot the bill of litigating this thing; they will hire a PR firm to get this story OUT for real, front page, major news carriers, cable, not connected to college athletics, Stewart, Colbert, and Mahr. I have been advocating for post graduation health coverage for college athletes for years; I had no idea that this stuff was going on. Tough to watch college sport now; feels as if being complicit. Those who don't do this stuff, I assume that Duke is among them, need to speak out and be part of the solution. I say part because I doubt that any sports program does anything to help its wounded warriors after they finish or leave school. The NCAA needs to be gone because of this. Done. Finished.

[ForkFondler]

This is a moral issue for everyone, fans included. The lawsuits have begun. A small school quarterback who had gotten into Princeton got concussed so he cannot retain information, cannot hold a job, etc. He asked his school for assistance with medical, rehab and other related costs. The school refused. He sued. See Real Sports archives for the story. Someone will bring a class action, maybe a consortium of class action firms that can foot the bill of litigating this thing; they will hire a PR firm to get this story OUT for real, front page, major news carriers, cable, not connected to college athletics, Stewart, Colbert, and Mahr. I have been advocating for post graduation health coverage for college athletes for years; I had no idea that this stuff was going on. Tough to watch college sport now; feels as if being complicit. Those who don't do this stuff, I assume that Duke is among them, need to speak out and be part of the solution. I say part because I doubt that any sports program does anything to help its wounded warriors after they finish or leave school. The NCAA needs to be gone because of this. Done. Finished.

Risk-Reward-Responsibility. Athletes take on the risk of injury by participating, usually just because they like it. Lots of ways to lay the blame.

That said, can the non-athlete students trust a university to not place them in harms way (e.g. by taking on a crippling debt)? Maybe not.

[DukeWarhead]

I say part because I doubt that any sports program does anything to help its wounded warriors after they finish or leave school. The NCAA needs to be gone because of this. Done. Finished.

Don't use this term when refering to injured athletes. Just don't. I understand it's just a figure of speech for you, but for many others, it's much more. And no, I don't think that's being overly sensitive.

[SupaDave]

Don't use this term when refering to injured athletes. Just don't. I understand it's just a figure of speech for you, but for many others, it's much more. And no, I don't think that's being overly sensitive.

Didn't realize any particular class of people had a copyright on the words "wounded" and/or "warriors"... This is such a small thing to nitpick.

[Duvall]

The NCAA needs to be gone because of this. Done. Finished.

What would that accomplish? The schools would still be making these decisions.

[NSDukeFan]

Didn't realize any particular class of people had a copyright on the words "wounded" and/or "warriors"... This is such a small thing to nitpick.

Don't Andrew Bogut and David Lee own the rights to those terms.

[Turtleboy]

Didn't realize any particular class of people had a copyright on the words "wounded" and/or "warriors"... This is such a small thing to nitpick.Of course the remark was not about the individual words was it? It was about the words used together. And of course you're right, no one has a copyright on that. However, there is an organization known as the Wounded Warriors that supports service men and women who have been wounded in combat or in combat support. A request not to refer to an athlete injured in a basketball game as similar to a soldier wounded in battle seems reasonable to me. I can't remembrr the last time a D 1 player had both legs amputated as a result of an injury sustained on the field of play.

Edit: FWIW, the phrase "Wounded Warrior Project" is copyrighted.

[ChicagoCrazy84]

Of course the remark was not about the individual words was it? It was about the words used together. And of course you're right, no one has a copyright on that. However, there is an organization known as the Wounded Warriors that supports service men and women who have been wounded in combat or in combat support. A request not to refer to an athlete injured in a basketball game as similar to a soldier wounded in battle seems reasonable to me. I can't remembrr the last time a D 1 player had both legs amputated as a result of an injury sustained on the field of play.

Edit: FWIW, the phrase "Wounded Warrior Project" is copyrighted.

I agree the term "Wounded Warrior" should not be thrown around so loosely. I'll give it a pass in this case however. These guys though not for their country...are battling and putting themselves in harms way for their school and their fans. I am ok with it :)

[Turtleboy]

I agree the term "Wounded Warrior" should not be thrown around so loosely. I'll give it a pass in this case however. These guys though not for their country...are battling and putting themselves in harms way for their school and their fans. I am ok with it :)That's too bad.

[Indoor66]

I agree the term "Wounded Warrior" should not be thrown around so loosely. I'll give it a pass in this case however. These guys though not for their country...are battling and putting themselves in harms way for their school and their fans. I am ok with it :)

Yeah, all that lead and shrapnel flying around the court can really hurt a guy! :mad:

[DukeWarhead]

Yeah, all that lead and shrapnel flying around the court can really hurt a guy! :mad:

Good one.
The reason I raised the intial "nit-pick" was to try to keep a bit of context and reality within the thread. Sports injuries, in my mind, aren't comparable to wounds from combat - even in the most benign reference. True, I realize that I'm biased - career military service, combat vet, friends killed and wounded in combat - but I'm not so sure that I'm being overly nitpicky for throwing the b.s. flag when the term "wounded warrior" is used in reference to college athletes dealing with anything from a twisted ankle or even a horrific fracture (ala Lousiville's Ware.) The notion of athletes "putting themselves in harms way" makes me roll my eyes. They play hard, they risk injury, they have to be committed - I get it. But let's take it easy on the heroic imagery.

[SupaDave]

Maybe he should have used Road Warriors like Hawk and Animal or if they were from Californina, then the Golden State Warriors. But no matter what though - people always want the Warriors to come out and play...

[MartyClark]

Good article that raises some good policy issues. I've represented or given legal advice to some injured students at University of Colorado, including several scholarship athletes. In my limited experience, I have seen regular students sustain life changing, permanent injuries in intramurals or regular student life. They usually have no recourse against the school but have all the problems that an injured football player would have in terms of future medical bills, insurability and disabilty.

I recognize that the scholarship athletes are not "employees" of the school but I think a workers compensation model would be appropriate. If injured during the course and scope of their "employment", in this case their activities as a student athlete, they should be entitled to payment of medical bills and impairment. I'm not a workers compensation attorney but, in most states, injured workers don't get rich from the workers compensation system. It's usually a bare boned award of current and future needs.