Bellaire Examiner - Sports
Family of Rice football player filing wrongful death lawsuit
The family of Rice football Dale Lloyd II announced plans to file a wrongful death lawsuit in state district court against Rice University, former coach Todd Graham, the NCAA and others.
Attorneys from the Lanier Law Firm will represent the Lloyd family, who are calling into question the medical screening policies of African American student athletes at university athletic programs nationwide.
Lloyd II was a 19-year-old football player at Rice when he collapsed during practice Sept. 24, 2006 and died the next day. According to the lawsuit, Lloyd II and other teammates were given nutritional supplement shakes that contained creatine, a naturally occurring organic acid that supplies energy to muscle and nerve cells but can also cause dangerous side effects, including dehydration, headaches and kidney failure.
The lawsuit also said medical literature has warned about the increased risk of rhabdomyolosis for those who use nutritional supplements and also have the trait for sickle-cell disease, which is found in one of 12 African Americans and can be diagnosed with a simple blood test.
The suit said after taking the supplement, Lloyd II was ordered to run 16 individual 100-yard sprints, and even though he was having trouble breathing and was in pain, the coaching staff ordered other players not to help him as he was forced to complete the sprints.
After the session, Lloyd collapsed on the field and never regained consciousness. The coroner said his death was the result of acute excertional rhabdomyolosis secondary to the sickle-cell trait.
In response to the lawsuit, Rice University sent out the following statement last Tuesday:
“Rice regrets Dale's death and the loss suffered by his family. Dale's teammates, coaches, professors and other Rice friends share the Lloyd family's sorrow. Nonetheless, university employees acted responsibly throughout the unfortunate incident, and Rice will defend itself vigorously against this litigation.”
Rusty Hardin & Associates will represent Rice.
Attorneys from the Lanier Law Firm will represent the Lloyd family, who are calling into question the medical screening policies of African American student athletes at university athletic programs nationwide.
Lloyd II was a 19-year-old football player at Rice when he collapsed during practice Sept. 24, 2006 and died the next day. According to the lawsuit, Lloyd II and other teammates were given nutritional supplement shakes that contained creatine, a naturally occurring organic acid that supplies energy to muscle and nerve cells but can also cause dangerous side effects, including dehydration, headaches and kidney failure.
The lawsuit also said medical literature has warned about the increased risk of rhabdomyolosis for those who use nutritional supplements and also have the trait for sickle-cell disease, which is found in one of 12 African Americans and can be diagnosed with a simple blood test.
The suit said after taking the supplement, Lloyd II was ordered to run 16 individual 100-yard sprints, and even though he was having trouble breathing and was in pain, the coaching staff ordered other players not to help him as he was forced to complete the sprints.
After the session, Lloyd collapsed on the field and never regained consciousness. The coroner said his death was the result of acute excertional rhabdomyolosis secondary to the sickle-cell trait.
In response to the lawsuit, Rice University sent out the following statement last Tuesday:
“Rice regrets Dale's death and the loss suffered by his family. Dale's teammates, coaches, professors and other Rice friends share the Lloyd family's sorrow. Nonetheless, university employees acted responsibly throughout the unfortunate incident, and Rice will defend itself vigorously against this litigation.”
Rusty Hardin & Associates will represent Rice.
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