Gavin Class, who suffered near-fatal heatstroke while on the practice field at Towson in 2013, will be back on the field on Aug. 9 after a U.S. district judge ruled Friday that Towson must allow Class, a 22-year-old lineman, back on the team.
In August 2013, Class, an offensive guard, collapsed during a workout after his temperature shot to 108 degrees, which caused his heart and liver to fail. During his recovery, Class endured 14 surgeries, including a liver transplant, but was able to rehabilitate enough to be cleared to play football again.
However, when he tried to rejoin the Towson team, he was told it was not medically safe to do so. Class filed a disability discrimination lawsuit against the university in May.
“Despite the extraordinary comeback of Gavin Class, the Towson University football team physician [Dr. Kari Kindschi] has blocked his return to the field,” Judge Richard D. Bennett wrote. “The University shall be ordered to permit [Class] to return to active status as a full participant in its football program.”
In his ruling, Bennett wrote that none of the on-field accommodations Class has asked for, including high-tech protective abdominal padding that the athlete produced in court, would strain Towson's manpower or resources. Prior to each practice, Class would swallow a “thermometer pill” to allow a trainer to wave a hand-held monitor over his abdomen for three to five seconds every five to 10 minutes to check his core body temperature.
Class' family has offered to pay the cost of the pill and equipment. For the first two weeks of practice, the trainer would come gratis from the Korey Stringer Institute in Connecticut, a leader in heatstroke treatment for athletes and the military.
“The evidence at the hearing [Tuesday] indicated that Class is at no increased risk [of heatstroke] if his requested accommodations are provided,” the judge wrote.
Class, who is 6-foot-4, 255 pounds, is 50 pounds lighter than he was before his collapse, but has worked hard to get back into playing shape to rejoin the program.
Class played 14 games with the University of Rochester in 2010 and 2011 before transferring to Towson. He took a medical redshirt in 2013, was still on the roster in 2014 though he didn’t play. He was named to the 2014 All-CAA All-Academic Team.
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