Asking my homies @gator_lawyer @wgbgator @g8rjd to weigh in on the legalities of Keyontae Johnson's situation. A lot of conjecture here on liability to UF if KJ plays for us again. Main points of contention are whether if he signs a waiver if the school can still be sued by his family... or if they also can sign a waiver and it be enforceable. Also, any details on the insurance policy on him that he might be able to collect? Is that what is keeping him from playing? Is there a contingency for a payout if he doesn't get drafted or is it only paid out if he never plays again? A lot of questions... Personally, I think he should be allowed to play as long as he and/or his family is willing to sign a waiver releasing UF from liability.
I don't think this is a question of liability. Yes, if he knows the risks and signs the liability waiver, it can be enforceable. But UF doesn't want to put a kid out there who could die. They don't want their own Hank Gathers. I imagine this is an issue of health, not liability.
IF cleared by his personal and the team physicians why would any additional liability policy be need or additional liability absorbed by the team or University. There would be no more additional liability than if any other student athlete were injured.
From what I’m reading, UF liability isn’t really part of his decision. It’s either $5M from the policy UF pays on or go pro (I’m guessing the policy requires a waiver and $5M in hand is better than who knows in a bush). It’s really dependent on the policy and what he can collect vs how much he can do to try to recover enough to go pro. He won’t suit up for us again. Just my $.02. Report: UF's Johnson eyes $5M insurance payout
As stated above, he already has a $5M insurance policy that UF bought him. This dovetails with my post on November 3: AP sources: $5M insurance payout awaits Florida's Johnson | Swamp Gas Forums
If he doesn't play again he will be okay financially. But if he tries to play again there are some very large negatives in play. Don't make it to the NBA and you've given up that $5 million landing pad. Do make it to the NBA then die and then you are dead. The logical choice is to take the money and start your coaching career, but there will always be that question burning in your heart, would you have made it.
I don’t think that there is a serious threat of death. I think that it’s the choice between an insurance payout vs the chance of not getting drafted due to NBA teams concern over his health. That’s the real risk. Everyone assumes he had a heart attack, while ignoring what it actually looked like happened. Can you just faint immediately during a heart attack? Yes, but that would seem to be the rarity. It looks like he fainted and then the trauma to his head from the impact with the floor did extra damage. That did not look anything like a heart attack to me.
Keyontae and his family could sign waivers that would absolve UF from any liability if he resumed play and something tragic happened. He probably wouldn't even need his parents to sign; at this point I am sure he is over the age of 18. However, UF would get blasted by the media and the ensuing media feeding frenzy is not something that UF would want. Think about it. Plus, his condition is very unpredictable, and no competent doctor would ever guarantee that he is safe to play, because then they would be sued. With regard to his insurance policy, it is hard to know what the carrier would do if he played and bad things happened. The policy language would control, and without reading the policy carefully, you just can't know.
NIL. Lets all chip in to cover the $5 mill. Seriously, why couldn't he line up the money from NIL or something, bank it, play and try to make it professionally. If its the insurance money, that would solve it. GC could sponsor him for $5 mill easy. Just increase membership to $10,000 a year. I don't think the insurance policy would be the issue.
Murphree I think you are equating what you saw as an ischemic event where there is a blockage in one or more coronary arteries causing chest pain and creating damage because of disrupted blood supply to the heart muscle. You must consider the possibility of an arrhythmia like RVR that prevents the heart from pumping enough blood to supply the body with oxygenated blood and once deprived the brain would shut down much like fainting.
