Alabama A&M’s Medrick Burnett Jr. died at age 20 on Wednesday night time after struggling a head harm in a soccer recreation in October, Jefferson County deputy coroner AJ Clifton confirmed with The Athletic on Friday.
The redshirt freshman linebacker suffered a head harm through the Bulldogs’ 27-19 loss to Alabama State, their in-state rival, on Oct. 26 through the Magic City Classic.
Clifton declined to offer any additional info to the outlet; nonetheless, a information launch is predicted to be given on Saturday.
On Wednesday, the college did verify the demise of its scholar; nonetheless, it withdrew the assertion simply hours later after listening to from UAB Hospital that he remained alive.
Alabama A&M mentioned it was “initially suggested by a right away member of the family on Tuesday night” concerning the 6-foot-2, 225-pound freshman.
“We retract the information of the passing of Medrick Burnette Jr, that was initially suggested by a right away member of the family on Tuesday night,” the college’s athletic division posted on X. “Our employees acted accordingly to the desires of the member of the family to tell the A&M group and past of this unlucky incidence. Upon listening to from a consultant from UAB hospital this afternoon, we discovered that he stays alive. We specific our rapid remorse for disseminating false info nonetheless, we maintain full pleasure in realizing that Medrick stays in steady situation.”
A GoFundMe began by Burnett’s household says the linebacker was “severely injured after a head-on-head collision” in October, which fell only a day earlier than his twentieth birthday.
“He had a number of mind bleeds and swelling of the mind,” the household additionally wrote. “He needed to have a tube to empty to alleviate the stress, and after 2 days of extreme stress, we needed to go for a craniotomy, which was the final resort to assist attempt to save his life.”
As of Friday night time, the household had raised over $51,000 of a $100,000 objective.
On Wednesday, the GoFundMe organizer and Burnett’s oldest sister, Dominece James, posted the most recent replace on the web page, saying “Please pray he’s having a troublesome time however we’re holding on til the very finish. God give us energy so we are able to maintain the religion.”
Burnett initially performed for Grambling State in Louisiana earlier than transferring to Alabama A&M.
The Lakewood, California native had 5 tackles throughout seven video games of the Bulldogs’ 6-6 season.
