Beverly J. Morgan is suing Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini’s charitable foundation (Bo Pelini Foundation, Inc.) for injuries sustained during an annual football clinic for women called Football 101.
Back in June 2, 2010, Morgan, who was a participant in the Football 101 clinic, was partaking in a common football drill called the gauntlet (where a running back carries the ball through two-sided wall of defenders trying to strip the ball using blocking pads). As such, when Morgan ran through the gauntlet, she was struck violently by women on either side causing her to fall to her feet and hitting her head on the training floor center. At no time was Morgan instructed or warned about the drill and she was not issued protective football gear.
As a result of the incident, Morgan sustained headaches, constant nausea, and her right foot was dragging. As time ensued, she noticed continued headaches, speech pattern issues, memory loss, blurred vision, tremors, etc. In August 2010, while exercising she suddenly became disoriented and was unable to continue. Morgan contacted her doctor and was immediately instructed to go to the emergency room where she underwent a CT scan. As a result, the hospital admitted her for brain surgery. After she recovered from brain surgery, she returned to the hospital in February 2011 to undergo rotator cuff surgery to repair her torn tendons.
Morgan alleges that her surgeries were a proximate cause of her injuries sustained as a result of participating in the gauntlet. She amassed over $92,000 in medical bills and is now suing the Bo Pelini Foundation for medical expenses, pain and suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life. She filed her seven page civil complaint for negligence in the District Court of Lancaster County, Nebraska (D 02 CI 0003583).
According to the foundation’s website, The Bo Pelini Foundation was founded by Nebraska Head Football Coach Bo Pelini and his wife Mary Pat in April of 2008. The foundation supports nonprofit organizations dedicated to the fight against cancer and juvenile and adult diabetes. It provides targeted financial assistance to programs which advance opportunities for disadvantaged children, particularly young people growing up in Nebraska.
