Nearly a year after Bennie Abram died during the course of a winter conditioning session, the family of the Ole Miss players has notified the university it will pursue legal action. Abram, a junior college transfer, was taking part in an agility drill Feb. 19 of last year when he fell ill and, after being rushed to a local hospital, passed away a short time later. Abram’s death was due to complications from sickle cell trait with exertion and a contributing factor of cardiomegaly, an inflammation of the heart. In the 90-day notice required under Mississippi law before filing suit against state employees, attorneys representing the Abram family claim that neither the player himself nor the family were"made aware of the results or the potential ramifications of the diagnosis" of sickle cell trait. As a result of that and Ole Miss violating "NCAA recommendations by conducting an intense workout before Mr. Abram collapsed", the family intends to file a lawsuit against numerous entities, including Ole Miss, the NCAA and head coach Houston Nutt, seeking at least $10 million in damages after the 90-day notice has lapsed. "Student-athletes shouldn’t be dying because of sickle cell," says Gene Egdorf, an attorney with The Lanier Law Firm who represents the Abram family, in a statement accompanying the five-page letter. “The only reason that it turns fatal is because someone along the way made mistakes or intentionally disregarded the well-established guidelines for training, monitoring, and treating these student-athletes.
As in the release, sickle cell trait has been linked to at least nine deaths of college athletes since 2000. Egdorf and The Lanier Law Firm negotiated a landmark 2009 settlement with the NCAA following the death of Rice University football player Dale R. Lloyd II, who also had sickle cell trait.
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