Ereck Plancher discussions

[theman123]

I personally don't blame to school.  IMO, it's O'Leary's fault, partially atleast.  I think he was not thinking about his health, that being he wasn't paying attention to who was beat, but that he was.  So I think he should've been more aware.  And by the way OTL put it, they made it seem like the training staff was tentative to help him, because of O'Leary's jack ass attitude.

[crambone]

Wow man....I just watched it after DVRing it.

wow.

If O'Leary and Tribble still have jobs at the end of this year, it will be a travesty.

[UCFChad]

Wow man....I just watched it after DVRing it.

wow.

If O'Leary and Tribble still have jobs at the end of this year, it will be a travesty.

Guys, I will wait for the proof, both direct and proximate.  The burden of proof and pursuasion is on the plaintiff.  I have seen none. That is all*

[Who'sYourData?]

Here's the segment...

http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3678392

[UCFChad]

Here's the segment...

http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3678392

Guys, I will wait for the proof both direct and proximate*

[SANJAY]

Here's the segment...

http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3678392

Guys, I will wait for the proof both direct and proximate*

If you were on the jury I would want that from you.  In the court of public opinion the rest of us are allowed to draw our own conclusions based on the facts that are out there.

[BJ]

To me, it seems that Erecks condition was not at all in the thoughts of the trainers or O'Leary.  Even though Ereck had tested positive twice for this. Trainers were warned of this very condition recently, and after they confirmed Ereck's positive test, they took no precautions, and basically acted unaware of Ereck's condition. Even as Ereck was dieing from his condition, the doesn't appear that the trainers were thinking of the fact that he even HAD a condition, let alone that he was suffering serious consequences from it. More like an "opps, we forgot he had a life-threatening condition we were supposed to monitor and take precautions (that don't include pushing him harder after he was in early stages of death) for".  It really is sad how someone died because of pure incompetence.

It's also not surprising that the UCF fans on their board are trying to push this off as Jamison, a bitter ex-teammate, trashing the school because they kicked him off the team.  Below an article from the month after Ereck died. Kinda odd that Jamison's "lie" is the same thing that other, current, players told.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3366543

Report: Players to meet with UCF attorneys in death probe

ESPN.com news services

Updated: April 25, 2008, 11:47 AM ET

Central Florida is interviewing football players as it continues to review the death of wide receiver Ereck Plancher, sources close to the program told the Orlando Sentinel.

Two UCF football players -- whom the newspaper granted anonymity because they said they fear retribution from coaches -- said the players were informed by team staff that they had to meet individually with university attorneys, according to the report.

Several of the interviews are expected to be conducted this week, before the players leave campus. Many of the players have final exams this week, according to the report.

"We are continuing to evaluate the events surrounding Ereck's death, as we have from the beginning," UCF spokesman Grant Heston said Thursday. But he declined to comment on the player interviews, the newspaper reported.

The university has also begun reimbursing Plancher's family for funeral expenses, according to the report.

The player interviews follow a report in the Sentinel earlier this month, in which four UCF players said Plancher showed signs of distress during the workout before he collapsed and died.

The players also said the workout was more intense than the university initially indicated, and that coach George O'Leary cursed at Plancher for a lack of effort following the drills -- an allegation O'Leary denied, according to the Sentinel.

Plancher, 19, of Naples, Fla., collapsed and was taken to a hospital on March 18. He was pronounced dead a half-hour after the workout, known as a "mat drill."

In the Sentinel report earlier this month, the four players said the workout in UCF's indoor field house, which followed an hour-long weight training session, included multiple agility exercises lasting five minutes each, two runs on a 200-yard obstacle course and two sideline-to-sideline sprints. They said Plancher fell during the final sprint, as coaches yelled at him to finish the drill.

Enock Plancher, Ereck's father, said the family is still awaiting a final autopsy report before deciding if it will pursue a lawsuit against the university. A preliminary autopsy was inconclusive and additional tests are being done.

According to several of Plancher's relatives and friends and his high school coach in Naples, the wide receiver said in the spring of 2007 that he had collapsed during an earlier UCF workout.

[Who'sYourData?]

Here's the segment...

http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3678392

Guys, I will wait for the proof both direct and proximate*

Absolutely.  I'm not ready to pronounce anyone guilty.  But there are lots of questions I'd like to see answered.  I'd like to see what happens in January when a group of players doesn't have to answer to O'Leary anymore.  I'd like to see UCF's official policy on how to handle kids with the Sickle Cell trait.  I'd like to know why that policy wasn't followed with Ereck.

[TyBull]

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/or...8161.story

This was the follow up after the game.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/or...892.column

[TyBull]

orlandosentinel.com/sports/orl-ucfside03a08nov03,0,608161.story

OrlandoSentinel.com

ESPN report raises questions, backs Sentinel's account of Plancher's death

Iliana Lim�n

Sentinel Staff Writer

November 3, 2008

An ESPN Outside the Lines report that aired Sunday morning raised questions about the death of football player Ereck Plancher and the way UCF handled the situation before, during and after he died following a workout.

The report corroborated previous stories in the Orlando Sentinel, including interviews with four players on the team who witnessed Plancher's final workout and talked about the severity of the session.

They requested anonymity because they feared losing their scholarships.

ESPN reporter Mark Fainaru-Wada interviewed numerous sources for his report, including former players James Jamison and Jevaughn Reams.

"They ran a player to death," Jamison said on camera during the ESPN segment.

Plancher, a 19-year-old freshman wide receiver from Naples, collapsed March 18 inside the Nicholson Fieldhouse during offseason conditioning drills supervised by Coach George O'Leary and his staff.

Plancher was taken to a nearby hospital and later died.

An autopsy report later found Plancher died after the workout triggered a sickle-cell trait episode, causing his organs to shut down.

Plancher's parents have informed UCF officials they intend to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the university. UCF officials have repeatedly said Plancher received excellent care at the university and he was treated properly by trainers and coaches.

"From what we have learned to date, our review of the March 18 workout has shown that coaches and staff acted appropriately," Athletic Director Keith Tribble said in a statement issued by the university.

UCF senior defensive back Joe Burnett said he did not see the ESPN report. When he was told Jamison said Plancher's final workout was more intense than described by UCF officials, Burnett said, "My opinion, I disagree. What was said has been closed for awhile. I think what was said was accurate from the university, Coach O'Leary and Keith Tribble."

ESPN reports a six-month investigation found:

*Coaches and team trainers were aware Plancher suffered from sickle-cell trait, but they didn't appear to observe precautions recommended by a national athletic trainers' organization nine months before Plancher died.

*Plancher appeared to be struggling at the end of the March 18 workout, and eyewitnesses say coaches and trainers were slow to respond.

*After Plancher's death, O'Leary and athletic department officials significantly understated the difficulty of the conditioning session.

*Some of Plancher's teammates were afraid to discuss details of the workout for fear of losing their scholarships. Jamison was the sole former player to provide an on-camera interview to ESPN and was quoted extensively.

He said he left the UCF football team because of lack of playing time and transferred to Division II Texas A&M Commerce.

*The school did not begin interviewing players about the incident until more than a month after it happened.

O'Leary said in a statement issued by UCF, "I am aware of the ESPN broadcast today, but there is a pending lawsuit from the Plancher family which prevents me from speaking as openly as I would like. We all mourn the loss of Ereck. This was a tragedy unlike anything I have every experienced in 40 years of coaching."

The Sentinel, along with ESPN, is continuing to seek public records in connection with Plancher's death and have hired counsel to represent them in that process.

Copyright © 2008, Orlando Sentinel