My Thoughts on Ereck Plancher’s Death

Recently, the University of Central Florida released two documents relating to the death of wide receiver Ereck Plancher during the offseason. This comes after pressure from ESPN and the Orlando Sentinel, who have hounded the school to release information about investigation and circumstances surrounding Plancher’s collapse after a conditioning practice.

You can read the full story by ESPN at their website, but here are the main points:

• Assistant athletic trainer Robert Jackson says that Plancher appeared to be exhausted, but never complained that he felt sick, hurt, light-headed, etc.
• The schools says that the workout was “routine” and “not taxing,” but two players have gone on record (and a number have commented anonymously) that the workout was extremely intense.
• Plancher’s parents intend to sue for wrongful death.
• The schools reports did not include Plancher’s medical records, and they did not begin interviewing other players until over a month after the incident. Multiple players, including two that have since left the team, said they were never questioned.
• Plancher suffered from the sickle-cell trait, which has been cited in the deaths of 11 athletes since 2000. About nine months prior to Plancher’s death, the National Athletic Trainers’ Organization issued a warning about this condition, along with recommendations for athletes suffering from it. Trainers and Plancher himself were aware that he carried the trait.
• Players say that the school hasn’t been completely honest about the circumstances that day. They say that Plancher fell while trying to run a set of sprints, and that he stumbled to the finish line 20-30 seconds after the rest of the team. In addition, they’ve noted that Plancher was singled out by Coach O’Leary who reportedly yelled at him “You are better than this. You are a receiver. You should be able to run for days.”

So, long story short, the parents and players blame the school, but the coaches say that they didn’t do anything wrong. What do I think?

I think that this is an awful shame. I think that the school should have formed a workout plan with Plancher due to his sickle-cell trait, but I also think that he should have been responsible enough to know his limits. When you have a health condition, you have to understand how to take care of yourself. You have to stop the coaches and say, “I can’t do this,” not continue to workout because you’re proud.

So do I think that it is the school’s fault? They certainly could have handled things differently. That said, Plancher had a choice in this matter. They weren’t holding a gun to his head, forcing him to run. They weren’t ignoring his pleas to stop, his reminder that he had a medical condition. In life, everyone makes choices, and sometimes the collective choices of people in a situation lead to a tragedy. And I believe that’s what happened here.

Weigh in with your own opinions by leaving a comment below.

Picture via Newscom.