The father of a former South Carolina State football player who died in a murder-suicide filed a lawsuit against the HBCU, claiming the school failed to educate players about head injuries that eventually led to his decline.
Alonzo Adams, the father of one-time SCSU football player Philip Adams, claimed in a lawsuit that his son developed Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy there and that the university was negligent in providing treatment and a safe environment.
The suit contends that Adams, who was 32 years old at the time of his death, developed CTE based on his time playing college football and that the head trauma resulted in the actions that led to his death.
An autopsy later revealed that Adams had severe CTE in both frontal lobes of his brain. Following the incident, his family told law enforcement that Adams had complained of excruciating pain, memory issues, and difficulty sleeping.
The lawsuit, filed in an Orangeburg County, South Carolina judicial circuit court, criticizes SCSU for “failing to have proper policies and procedures in place to ensure the safety of Adams and players or persons and others in similar circumstances regarding concussion and head trauma in collegiate football.”
The seven-page document goes on to claim that the school did not “properly train its employees on identifying, evaluating and properly treating Adams and players or persons and others in similar
circumstances regarding head injuries or adhere to general safety practices as well as concussion and head trauma protocols.”
“I can say he’s a good kid,” Alonzo Adams said. “I think the football messed him up.”
A spokesperson for South Carolina State said the school is not commenting on active litigation.
