Plaintiff in NCAA concussion lawsuit opposes proposed settlement

Former Eastern Illinois defensive back Adrian Arrington, the lead plaintiff in a major concussion lawsuit against the NCAA, is opposed to a proposed settlement in the case.

According to the Associated Press, Arrington, in a statement released via the National College Players Association, said the settlement “doesn’t address the reasons I filed the lawsuit in the first place.”

“The preliminary settlement is completely unacceptable and I never agreed to it," Arrington said. "In fact, the first time I learned about it was in the media. I feel that I have been misinformed and the preliminary settlement doesn’t address the reasons I filed the lawsuit in the first place. I would like the judge to reject the preliminary settlement. I plan to secure new legal representation to continue this fight to protect future players in NCAA sports.” 

U.S. District Judge John Lee was considering the settlement proposal, which includes $70 million set aside by the NCAA for concussion testing, but rejected it in December.

Arrington says he suffered five concussions during his career and still deals with complications from the injuries, including seizures and depression.

Ramogi Huma, the founder of the National College Players Association, said the current settlement proposal does not provide the level of funding needed for current and future athletes.

From the AP:

Huma said the settlement does not provide what is needed by former and future athletes because it does not mandate rules to help minimize traumatic brain injury and does not provide players suffering from brain damage direct financial support.

Joseph Siprut, a co-lead counsel in the lawsuit, said “over 20 current class representative plaintiffs” remain in favor of the settlement.

The settlement has been reworked after Lee rejected it in December. Though at the time Lee called the proposal “a significant step,” he said the $75 million deal was “potentially underfunded” and wanted “both sides to go back to the drawing board.”

The settlement was set to provide $70 million to test current and former student-athletes with head injuries and another $5 million for research. 

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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!

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