A Dallas County jury recently returned a unanimous $140 million verdict against the National Collegiate Athletic Association after finding it was aware of the long-term consequences of repetitive head trauma and did not warn players.
The lawsuit was brought six years ago by the family of John Thomas Davis, who was an offensive lineman on Southern Methodist University’s football team in the 1950s. He died in 2016 after battling chronic traumatic encephalopathy dementia for nearly two decades.
His wife, Karol Davis, who quit her job to take care of her husband, died before the trial after suffering a stroke.
After playing football in college, Davis went on to become a teacher and coach in Paris, Texas. According to the lawsuit, he suffered headaches, memory loss, confusion, anxiety, paranoia, motor impairment, psychotic episodes and withdrew from society.
He was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2001. A brain autopsy performed at Boston University revealed that Davis died from Stage IV CTE dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
“The NCAA knew or should have known that its actions or inaction in light of the rate and extent of concussions reported and made known to the NCAA would cause harm to John Thomas Davis in both the short and long term,” the complaint read.
Judge Dianne Jones presided over the four-week jury trial that concluded April 27. The jurors awarded $110 million in punitive damages and $30 million to compensate Davis’ son, John Mark Davis.
In a statement issued to The Lawbook, the NCAA wrote that it “expresses its deepest sympathies to the Davis family, but we respectfully disagree with the jury’s verdict.”
“The evidence that was presented was largely based on the knowledge and science as it exists today, rather than what was known by the parties in the 1950s when Mr. Davis played college football,” the statement reads.
In the statement, the NCAA wrote that it “will continue to aggressively defend against cases like this one. We will pursue all legal options in this case, including an appeal.”
Bill Horton, D’Arcy Rapp, Jim Hartle, Gabriela Lopez-Ruperto and Justin Shrader of Shrader and Associates represented Davis. They did not respond to a request for comment.
Victor Vital, Lauren Brogdon, Julia Peebles and Chelby Sterling of Haynes Boone and Christopher Schmidt and Grant Glazebrook of Bryan Cave and Jeff Levinger represented the NCAA.
The case is John M. Davis, individually and on behalf of the estate of John Thomas Davis, deceased v. National Collegiate Athletic Association, CC-20-01121-D.