Lawsuit: Abusive exercise culture led to Stringer death
Posted: Monday July 28, 2003 12:48 PM
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- The National Football League fosters a "deadly culture" of abusive exercise that contributed to the death of Minnesota Vikings player Korey Stringer, according to a lawsuit filed Monday.
The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Columbus, Ohio, alleges that NFL coaches, trainers and doctors subject players to potentially fatal conditions by forcing them to participate in practices conducted in extreme heat and humidity while wearing improper clothes for such temperatures.
"A perverse, insidious and deadly culture has existed and continues to exist among NFL coaches, which unreasonably subjects players to heat-related illness during practices, ostensibly out of the twisted belief that players benefit from being subjected to such working conditions," the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Stringer's widow, Kelci Stringer, by Cincinnati attorney Stan Chesley. It seeks unspecified financial damages and asks that a court stop the NFL from forcing players to practice and play in high heat and humidity.
Stringer, formerly of Warren, who played at Ohio State, collapsed during training camp on July 31, 2001, in sweltering heat and humidity. The 335-pound Pro Bowl lineman's body temperature was 108.8 degrees when he arrived at a hospital. He died 15 hours later.
The lawsuit names the NFL, sports equipment maker Riddell Inc. of Elyria and Dr. John Lombardo, a Columbus sports physician who the lawsuit says is a member of the NFL safety and injury panel and advises the NFL on health issues.
Messages were left for the NFL and Lombardo. No number could immediately be found for Riddell.
Kelci Stringer had already filed a $100 million wrongful-death lawsuit against the Vikings and the team's training camp doctor, David Knowles.
In April, a Minnesota judge dismissed her claims against the team. She later settled with Knowles for an undisclosed sum. Her attorneys said at the time they planned to ask the state appeals court to reinstate the claims against the Vikings.
The league has said it has already made changes.
Before training camp opened in 2002, the NFL consulted with several experts and held a series of discussions and seminars on the subject. The league banned the herbal stimulant ephedra and began random testing for it last summer after learning that dietary supplements increased the risk of heat-related illnesses.
A bottle of Ripped Fuel, which contains ephedra, was found in Stringer's locker after he died, though Stringer's remains weren't tested for the substance during investigations of his death.
Posted: Monday July 28, 2003 12:48 PM
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- The National Football League fosters a "deadly culture" of abusive exercise that contributed to the death of Minnesota Vikings player Korey Stringer, according to a lawsuit filed Monday.
The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Columbus, Ohio, alleges that NFL coaches, trainers and doctors subject players to potentially fatal conditions by forcing them to participate in practices conducted in extreme heat and humidity while wearing improper clothes for such temperatures.
"A perverse, insidious and deadly culture has existed and continues to exist among NFL coaches, which unreasonably subjects players to heat-related illness during practices, ostensibly out of the twisted belief that players benefit from being subjected to such working conditions," the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Stringer's widow, Kelci Stringer, by Cincinnati attorney Stan Chesley. It seeks unspecified financial damages and asks that a court stop the NFL from forcing players to practice and play in high heat and humidity.
Stringer, formerly of Warren, who played at Ohio State, collapsed during training camp on July 31, 2001, in sweltering heat and humidity. The 335-pound Pro Bowl lineman's body temperature was 108.8 degrees when he arrived at a hospital. He died 15 hours later.
The lawsuit names the NFL, sports equipment maker Riddell Inc. of Elyria and Dr. John Lombardo, a Columbus sports physician who the lawsuit says is a member of the NFL safety and injury panel and advises the NFL on health issues.
Messages were left for the NFL and Lombardo. No number could immediately be found for Riddell.
Kelci Stringer had already filed a $100 million wrongful-death lawsuit against the Vikings and the team's training camp doctor, David Knowles.
In April, a Minnesota judge dismissed her claims against the team. She later settled with Knowles for an undisclosed sum. Her attorneys said at the time they planned to ask the state appeals court to reinstate the claims against the Vikings.
The league has said it has already made changes.
Before training camp opened in 2002, the NFL consulted with several experts and held a series of discussions and seminars on the subject. The league banned the herbal stimulant ephedra and began random testing for it last summer after learning that dietary supplements increased the risk of heat-related illnesses.
A bottle of Ripped Fuel, which contains ephedra, was found in Stringer's locker after he died, though Stringer's remains weren't tested for the substance during investigations of his death.
