Langston v. Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Ass'n

• Citation: 448 F.Supp.3d 938
• Decision Date: 25 March 2020
• Docket Number: Master Docket No. 16 C 8727,Original N.D. Ill. Docket No. 17 C 4978,MDL No. 2492
• Parties: Charles Marcus LANGSTON, Administrator of the Estate of Zack Langston, Danae Young, as mother and next friend for D.L., a minor, and all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. MID-AMERICA INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS ASSOCIATION, a Missouri nonprofit corporation, and National Collegiate Athletic Association, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois

448 F.Supp.3d 938

Charles Marcus LANGSTON, Administrator of the Estate of Zack Langston, Danae Young, as mother and next friend for D.L., a minor, and all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs,

v.MID-AMERICA INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS ASSOCIATION, a Missouri nonprofit corporation, and National Collegiate Athletic Association, Defendants.

MDL No. 2492

Master Docket No. 16 C 8727

Original N.D. Ill. Docket No. 17 C 4978

United States District Court, N.D. Illinois, Eastern Division.

Signed March 25, 2020

Glenn R. Gulick, Jr., Glenn R. Gulick, Jr., Attorney at Law, Joplin, MO, Daniel Joshua Schneider, Jay Edelson, Edelson PC, Chicago, IL, Jeffrey Lewis Raizner, Raizner Slania, LLP, Houston, TX, for Plaintiffs.

Christopher Marshall McHugh, Gregory B. Whiston, Seigfreid Bingham, P.C., Kansas City, MO, for Defendant Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association.

Mark Steven Mester, Latham & Watkins LLP, Chicago, IL, for Defendant National Collegiate Athletic Association.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

John Z. Lee, United States District Judge

Plaintiff Charles Langston, who is the administrator of the Estate of Zack Langston, and Danae Young, who is the mother of D.L., Zack Langston's minor son, have filed this action on behalf of a putative class of student athletes, who played football for Pittsburg State University ("PSU") in Kansas. Langston has sued the National Collegiate Athletic Association ("NCAA") and the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association ("MIAA")—PSU's athletic conference since 1989—for negligence, breach of express and implied contract, and unjust enrichment.¹

According to the complaint, while playing football for PSU from 2007 to 2010, Zack Langston experienced over one hundred concussions. Toward the end of his college football career, Langston evidently experienced severe deterioration of his memory, psychological well-being, and behavior, which he attributes to the repeated concussions that he suffered while playing football. Langston alleges that the NCAA and the MIAA knew about the debilitating long-term dangers of concussions, concussion-related injuries, and sub-concussive injuries, but recklessly exposed players to those risks without regard for their health and safety in order to protect the profits gained from college football.

The NCAA and the MIAA have moved to dismiss all or portions of the complaint pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure ("Rule") 12(b)(6). For the reasons provided herein, the motions are denied.

Factual Background ²

I. Langston at PSU

Zack Langston played football at PSU from 2007 to 2010 as an outside linebacker. Compl. ¶ 73. During his freshman year, coaches conducted drills that required him and his teammates to run at each other and hit each other as hard as they could. Id. ¶ 74. Langston suffered repeated concussive and sub-concussive impacts during these drills. Id. But, according to Plaintiffs, the NCAA and the MIAA lacked adequate concussion management protocols and return-to-play guidelines to address and treat concussions sustained by student-athletes during practices and games. Id. ¶¶ 76–77.

As a result, when Langston suffered a heavy hit during practice, he was often told to just "shake it off" and continue practicing. And, when he suffered concussive and sub-concussive hits during games, he again was told to get back onto the field. Id. ¶¶ 75, 78. On each such occasion, the NCAA and the MIAA withheld from Langston the medical attention and treatment that they knew was necessary to monitor, manage, and mitigate risks associated with traumatic brain injuries

caused by concussive or sub-concussive hits. Id. ¶ 79.

Toward the end of his college career, Langston began struggling with severe anxiety and stress. He experienced drastic mood swings and anger issues and suffered from memory problems and depression. Id. ¶ 80. Langston was convinced that football had "messed up his brain," and he withdrew from social situations, became extremely paranoid, and had suicidal thoughts. Id. ¶¶ 2, 81.

Approximately four years later, on February 24, 2014, at age 26, Langston fatally shot himself in the chest. Id. ¶¶ 81–82. His brain was sent to Boston University's Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center, and an examination conducted in June 2015 revealed that Langston had suffered from Stage II/IV Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy

("CTE")—a progressive degenerative brain disease found in individuals with a history of repetitive brain trauma. Id. ¶¶ 4, 83.

II. Defendants' Roles in Safeguarding the Health and Safety of Plaintiffs

The NCAA is the governing body of collegiate athletics. It oversees twenty-three college sports and over 400,000 students who participate in intercollegiate athletics, including those that play football at PSU and other MIAA schools. Id. ¶ 15. To accommodate the wide spectrum of student-athletes at its member schools, the NCAA has three different divisions of intercollegiate competition. Id. ¶ 16.

The NCAA's predecessor, the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States, was formed in the early 1900s specifically in order to make college football safer for student-athletes who were experiencing head injuries

at an alarming rate. Id. ¶ 21. Similarly, the singular goal of the NCAA was and is student-athlete safety. Id. To this end, the NCAA has stated it is "dedicated to safeguarding the well-being of student-athletes and equipping them with the skills to succeed on the playing field, in the classroom and throughout life." Id.

Each NCAA division is composed of several conferences to facilitate regional league play. Id. ¶ 17. The MIAA is one such conference and currently consists of fourteen member institutions located in the middle region of the United States. Id. The MIAA promulgates rules, handbooks, and regulations for its member schools in order to regulate their athletic departments. Id. Each member institution, and each of the member institution's student-athletes, agree to abide by the rules and regulations issued by the NCAA and the MIAA. Id. As such, the NCAA and the MIAA oversee and regulate the PSU football program and owe a duty of care to safeguarding the well-being of its student-athletes. Id. ¶ 20.

The NCAA and the MIAA are governed by the NCAA Constitution, the primary principle of which is to ensure that "[i]ntercollegiate athletics programs shall be conducted in a manner designed to protect and enhance the physical and educational well-being of student athletes." Id. ¶¶ 25, 31. To fulfill this overarching goal, the NCAA has promulgated and implemented certain regulations and requirements for its sports, including the NCAA Constitution, Operating Bylaws, and Administrative Bylaws, which provide detailed instructions on game and practice rules pertaining to player well-being and safety. Id. ¶ 26.

The NCAA also publishes a Sports Medicine Handbook ("Handbook") annually. Id. ¶ 27. The Handbook includes official policies and guidelines for the treatment and prevention of sports-related injuries, as well as return-to-play guidelines. Id. These policies and guidelines recognize that "student-athletes rightfully assume that those who sponsor intercollegiate athletics have taken reasonable precautions to minimize the risk of injury from athletics participation." Id. As a member conference in the NCAA, the MIAA is required to comply with, administer, and enforce all applicable NCAA rules, regulations, policies, and guidelines to protect the health and safety of PSU football players, such as Langston. Id. ¶ 31.

Furthermore, as compared to Langston and other collegiate football players, the NCAA and the MIAA were in a superior position to know of and mitigate the risks of concussions and traumatic brain injuries

. Id. ¶ 42. And PSU football players rely on the NCAA and the MIAA to safeguard their health by preventing and treating head-related injuries. Id. ¶ 33.

III. Concussions and Concussion-related Symptoms

A concussion results from an impact that causes the brain to bounce around or twist in the skull. Id. ¶ 36. This trauma damages brain cells and triggers chemical changes in the brain. Id. During normal everyday activity, spinal fluid protects the brain from touching the skull. Id. ¶ 37. But impacts to the head and impacts to the body that whiplash

the head, even relatively minor ones, can jolt the brain so that it presses through the spinal fluid to the skull. Id. ¶ 37.

Studies have shown that collegiate football players, during the course of a season, can receive more than 1,000 hits that deliver a force greater than 10G's.³ Id. ¶ 38. And the majority of football-related hits to the head exceed 20G's. Id.

When a football player suffers a severe impact that affects the head, he or she may experience various symptoms, including: (1) seeing stars, dizziness, or lightheadedness; (2) memory loss; (3) nausea; (4) vomiting; (5) headaches; (6) blurred vision or light sensitivity; (7) slurred speech; (8) difficulty concentrating or decision-making; (9) difficulty with coordination or balance; (10) unexplained anxiety or irritability; and/or (11) excessive tiredness. Id. ¶ 40. Concussed persons may not recognize the signs of a concussion, and the symptoms may prevent them from realizing they have suffered a concussion. Id. ¶ 41.

The brain needs time to heal after suffering a concussion to prevent further injury. Id. ¶ 42. Doctors generally prohibit concussed patients from returning to normal activities for one to two weeks. Id. ¶ 42. Individuals who continue to experience concussion symptoms after a few weeks are diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome

. Id. ¶ 44. The symptoms of post-concussion syndrome may last for months or may be permanent. Id.

IV. Long-term Effects of Concussions and Subconcussive Impacts

The complaint cites numerous studies that discuss the risks associated with brain trauma

. Id. ¶¶ 46–61. For example, studies of brain injuries suffered by boxers date back to the 1920s. Id. ¶ 50. In a study published in 1928, Dr. Harrison...