Golfers place 17th
The Oregon women’s golf team finished 17th Wednesday at the Rainbow Wahine Fall Golf Classic at the 5,900-yard, par-72 Kapolei Golf Course in Oahu, Hawaii.
Oregon transfer Kim Melrose of Ontario, Calif., had an all-time-best performance Wednesday.
Melrose scored a par-72, which is also the best recorded score this year by Oregon.
Oregon senior Kathy Cho ended the tournament tied for 62nd. Cho led the team with the best score at the tournament.
This tournament ended Oregon’s play for the fall. Their next tournament will be Feb. 17 in San Diego hosted by San Diego State.
— from staff and wire reports
Parents join forces in case against Northwestern
(U-WIRE) EVANSTON, Ill. — After months of legal wrangling, the parents of deceased Northwestern University football player Rashidi Wheeler decided Tuesday to work together to pursue the wrongful-death lawsuit filed against the university on their son’s behalf. But an NU official said the decision won’t impact the university’s investigation into the cause of Wheeler’s Aug. 3 death.
Thomas Demetrio, a lawyer for Rashidi’s father, George Wheeler, said the player’s parents, who have been divorced for nearly 20 years, agreed to take joint control of Rashidi’s estate moments before appearing in Cook County Probate Court on Tuesday afternoon. The parents will become joint plaintiffs in the suit filed against NU on Aug. 23.
The suit names seven members of NU’s athletic department, including Director of Athletics Rick Taylor and head football coach Randy Walker.
Wheeler’s mother, Linda Will, and George Wheeler each had sought total control of their son’s estate since his death after running conditioning drills. Wheeler’s parents now have an equal say in whether to settle the suit or take the case to court.
In a report released Oct. 9, NU lawyers said the school planned to reexamine blood and fluid samples from Wheeler’s autopsy. This was a challenge to the toxicology test performed by the Cook County Office of the Medical Examiner, which concluded that Rashidi’s severe asthma caused his death. On the day the report was released, University President Henry Bienen hinted in a memo that an NCAA-banned dietary supplement might have been a factor in Wheeler’s death.
The memo strongly supported the training staff, saying they acted “appropriately, even valiantly,” in their attempts to save Rashidi’s life.
Alan Cubbage, NU’s vice president for university relations, said the family’s decision won’t affect NU’s review of the case.
Demetrio declined to comment on the nature of the disagreement that had kept Rashidi’s parents from acting as co-administers of his estate.
“Both (Wheeler and Will) have been grieving a lot for the last 90 days,” he said.
— Matt Donnelly
Daily Northwestern
Northwestern University
