Two years ago, former NFL player Phillip Adams shot and killed six people in Rock Hill, South Carolina, before committing suicide as police closed in on him. His family has now sued the college he attended, over the head trauma he allegedly suffered while playing football there.
Via WCNC.com, Alonzo Adams has filed a lawsuit against South Carolina State University for negligence in connection with allegedly failing to properly warn Adams about the dangers of repetitive blows to the head, and for allegedly failing to provide better protection to football players.
The suit contends that Adams developed Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy based on his time playing college football, and that the head trauma resulted in the actions that led to his death.
It was later determined that Phillip Adams had severe CTE in both frontal lobes of his brain. His family had told officials following the incident that Adams had complained of excruciating pain, memory issues, and difficulty sleeping.
He played at South Carolina State from 2006 to 2009. He then spent six years in the NFL.
Adams wouldn’t have been part of the NFL’s CTE class action, since he played after the retirement cutoff for players to be included in the settlement. Although a suit against the NFL would be possible, he played after the NFL’s epiphany regarding brain injuries, followed by steps to make the game safer. Also, it would not be easy for any player who played after the risks of CTE became widely known to prove a failure to properly warn him about the risks.
His career at South Carolina State came just before football had its full awakening, at a time when there was arguably enough information to require pro and college programs to do a much better job of educating and protecting players.
It will nevertheless be a difficult case to prove, with many potential legal hurdles and challenges. Would he have stopped playing college football if he’d known the risks? That’s one of the defenses the NFL surely would have pressed if the class action hadn’t preliminarily settled nearly a decade ago. Also, South Carolina State will surely argue that it’s impossible to know whether the head trauma happened while he played there or in the NFL or in high school.
Ultimately, the Adams estate will have to prove a sufficient connection between the acts and omissions of the school and the incident that resulted in a mass shooting committed by Adams. It’s not impossible, but it will be far more challenging than the more typical wrongful death lawsuit resulting from an automobile accident, for example.
