College Football

Judge rules NCAA must go to trial in football death

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 12:28 a.m. ET

foxsports

ROCKVILLE, Md. (AP) A Maryland judge is refusing to drop the NCAA from a wrongful death lawsuit involving a Frostburg State University football player who suffered a head injury during practice in 2011.

Online court records show that Montgomery County Circuit Judge David Boynton denied the motion for summary judgment Wednesday in Rockville. The trial is set for June 20.

Fullback Derek Sheely's parents contended the NCAA deliberately downplayed risks associated with repeated head injuries before an earlier one has healed.

The NCAA argued it had no duty under Maryland law to prevent football injuries. It said 22-year-old Sheely knew the risks, and that the NCAA neither increased them nor caused his death.

The other defendants are three Frostburg State athletic staff members, Illinois-based helmet maker Kranos Corp. and Pennsylvania-based retailer George Heider.