NCAA found negligent in concussion trial, ordered to pay ex-college football player and wife $18 million

The NCAA owes former South Carolina State football player Robert Geathers and his wife $18 million after a jury found the association was negligent in failing to warn him of the long-term effects of concussions. Geathers, who played defensive end from 1977-80, will receive $10 million as a result of the civil trial. His wife, Debra, is owed $8 million for loss of consortium.

Geathers was diagnosed with dementia in 2017, and physicians who testified at the trial said he displays symptoms of CTE. He struggles with memory loss, cannot hold a job and has difficulties with day-to-day tasks.

Geathers’ attorneys argued that the symptoms are a result of trauma from his football career and that they did not appear until decades after his time at South Carolina State. They also alleged that the NCAA knew about concussion risks associated with football since 1933 but did not inform coaches or players until after Geathers’ career.

The jury determined that the NCAA “unreasonably increased the risk of harm of head impacts to Robert Geathers over and above the risks inherent to playing football.” It found 47 instances of negligence, citing each year from 1933 to 1980.

“This is definitely a landmark case,” Sellers said after the verdict.

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NCAA spokesperson Greg Johnson said to the AP that the association disagrees with the verdict and is prepared to appeal. He also argued that South Carolina State held standards in line with head injury knowledge at the time of Geathers’ playing days and that college football did not cause his health issues.

“The NCAA has prevailed in every other jury trial around the country on these issues,” Johnson said.

NCAA attorney Andy Fletcher argued similarly during the trial, asserting that Geathers faces numerous health conditions that contribute to his symptoms.

Geathers was a third-round pick by the Buffalo Bills in the 1981 NFL Draft, but he did not play a game after being placed on injured reserve. He was later inducted into the South Carolina State Athletics Hall of Fame, honoring his career on the football field and as a track and field athlete. Geathers has three sons who played in the NFL, and his brother also had a professional career.