NCAA concussion lawsuit plaintiff rejects deal

The lead plaintiff in the concussion lawsuit against the NCAA has fired his attorney and opposes a proposed settlement to the litigation.

Adrian Arrington, a former football player at Eastern Illinois University, called the deal “completely unacceptable” in a statement Tuesday.

“In fact, the first time I learned about it was in the media,” Arrington said. “I feel that I have been misinformed and the preliminary settlement doesn’t address the reasons I filed the lawsuit in the first place.”

Arrington, 28, sued the NCAA in U.S. District Court in Chicago in 2011 over concussions sustained during his football career.

Internal NCAA emails made public during discovery in the case included some of the organization’s employees joking about the increased focus on brain injuries in recent years.

U.S. District Judge John Lee rejected a proposed settlement in December. The parties are awaiting the judge’s ruling on a revised deal submitted in April that includes $70 million for medical monitoring over 50 years and $5 million for concussion research.

Joe Siprut, the Chicago attorney who filed Arrington’s lawsuit, described the opposition to the settlement as “misguided and inaccurate” in a statement.

“We remain optimistic that we will receive court approval of the settlement,” Siprut said.

Arrington’s statement was released by the reform-minded National College Players Assn.

“He is serious about making change and will not stand for anything less,” said Ramogi Huma, the organization’s executive director and a former UCLA football player.

Follow Nathan Fenno on Twitter @NathanFenno