SOUTH BEND, Ind.–The University of Notre Dame is being sued by a former Fighting Irish football player. Richard Morris claims the school did not educate players about the dangers of concussions.
The lawsuit claims the school and the NCAA both failed to warn players about the dangers, despite having the medical information.
Morris is a former defensive lineman and played on the 1988 championship team. He also says he dementia, short-term memory loss, tinnitus, insomnia, speech problems, emotional instability and depression. Morris claims each of the ailments is a result of head injuries received while he played for the school from 1985 to ’88.
The suit says Notre Dame and the NCAA placed profit above the health of its players.
“While the NCAA and Notre Dame knew of the harmful effects of [head injuries] on athletes for decades, they ignored these facts and failed to institute any meaningful methods of warning and/or protecting the athletes,” reads part of the lawsuit.
“For defendants, the continued expansion and operation of college football was simply too profitable to put at risk.”
Morrison said studies go back to 1905 on the harmful effects of concussions, so there was plenty of information available.
Neither Notre Dame nor the NCAA had responded to the suit, reports the South Bend Tribune.
Other players have sued, some in class-actions suits. One such suit brought a $75 million settlement from the NCAA, but no admission of wrong doing.
Morris and his wife now live in Virginia.
