Judge orders NCAA President Mark Emmert’s deposition in lawsuit
A Maryland judge has ordered NCAA President Mark Emmert to be deposed in a lawsuit over the death of a college football player.
Entered in Montgomery County (Md.) Circuit Court last week, the one-page order granted the plaintiffs’ motion to compel Emmert’s deposition in the case.
Frostburg State University fullback Derek Sheely collapsed during an August 2011 practice at the Division III school in Frostburg, Md., and later died from a head injury. Last year, his family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the NCAA, as well as two coaches and an athletic trainer from the university.
NCAA attorneys had opposed Emmert’s deposition, calling the move “unreasonable and unwarranted” in a June email attached to a court filing.
Sheely’s mother, Kristen, wrote a December 2011 letter to Emmert about the death that the plaintiffs said the president discussed with members of the NCAA’s health and safety committee. Another NCAA employee sent a four-paragraph response on Emmert’s behalf four months later.
The plaintiffs want to question Emmert about the letter and the association’s response to Sheely’s death, among other matters.
The case is scheduled for trial next summer.
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