Lawyers representing Daniel Cook, who was an Oregon offensive lineman from 1971-73 , are suing the NCAA and Pac-12 for concealing information about long-term effects of concussions, according to The Oregonian.
The suit alleges that Cook sustained multiple concussions and was knocked out between 15 and 30 times while playing for Oregon. The Oregonian reports that Cook went on to become a middle school teacher for 30 years, but resigned due to the aftermath of his concussions, which affected his ability to teach. Cook has since been diagnosed with dementia.
Although Cook is at the center of the lawsuit against the NCAA and Pac-12, it seeks to compensate all Oregon players who played for the team between 1964 and 2010. In 2010, the NCAA mandated that all schools have concussion protocols.
The lawsuit is one of six filed against the NCAA and select athletic conferences by Edelson PC, based in Chicago. Former players from Auburn, Georgia, Penn State, Utah and Vanderbilt also filed suits.
Last month, the Emerald published a report on current concussion issues in football, and how Oregon is dealing with it. Oregon reported 79 concussions from 2013 to 2015, according to university public records.
Attorney Jay Edelson is leading this latest wave of football concussion-related lawsuits, but said there will be as many as 40 to 50 more suits from tens of thousands of ex-players to come, according to Jon Solomon of CBSSports.com.
“The goal of the suits is to get people who are injured financial compensation — something that hasn’t happened as of yet,” Edelson said.
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