Former Kent State standout Jerry Flowers suing NCAA after suffering brain damage

By Kia Morgan-Smith

·January 23, 2019

Kent State University freshman running back Jerry Flowers dances after a touchdown in a 2005 game against Navy. (Photo by Damon J. Moritz/U.S. Navy via Getty Images)

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A man who played football for Kent State has made a claim that he’s suffering from long-term brain injuries because of it and he filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the NCAA.

Jerry Flowers, who was a running back for the school in 2005, has filed a lawsuit in federal court in Indiana for more than $5 million, citing fraud, negligence and breach of contract. He blames the organization for the traumatic brain damage he reportedly suffered while playing.

Flowers alleges that the NCAA actively hid information about the damaging effects of concussions on long-term health, TMZ reports.

Flowers says he sustained “numerous concussions” and suffers from “several symptoms indicative of long-term brain and neurocognitive injuries.”

Flowers was a standout player who made 304 rushing yards and three touchdowns during his freshman year at Kent State, according to Bleacher Report.

But he says he sustained “numerous concussions” on the gridiron and now he’s suffering from “several symptoms indicative of long-term brain and neurocognitive injuries.”

Flowers also claims in the lawsuit that the NCAA failed to warn players and concealed the fact that helmets didn’t protect against concussions, “despite the fact an athlete would naturally think of his or her helmet as protective.”

Flowers is making claim that he has CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) which is a brain condition that is associated with the onset of dementia due to repeated blows to the head.

The lawsuit follows a similar one earlier this month against not only the NCAA but also the University of Oregon and its former coach Willie Taggart. Former Oregon offensive lineman Doug Brenner filed suit for $11.5 million after he was hospitalized in 2017 for several injuries stemming from excessive workouts that caused rhabdomyolysis, a condition in which skeletal muscle quickly deteriorates.