College football player Medrick Burnett Jr. is confirmed to have died after being injured in a game last month. He was 20 years old.
Reports from various media outlets on Friday, November 29, revealed that an Alabama athlete suffered severe injuries during a game in October. Sadly, the athlete passed away over a month later due to the injuries.
The athlete, Burnett Jr., was taken off the field on October 26 after a head-on collision left him injured. This incident occurred just a day before the linebacker’s 20th birthday.
Alabama A&M University, where Burnett Jr. was a student, mistakenly issued a statement announcing his death prematurely while he was still fighting for his life.
AAMU officials reported the passing of Burnett Jr. via a press release on Wednesday, November 27.
“Our Bulldog family is heartbroken by the loss of Medrick Burnett Jr.” Alabama A&M Director of Athletics Paul Bryant said via the since-deleted statement. “Medrick was more than an exceptional athlete; he was a remarkable young man whose positive energy, leadership, and compassion left an indelible mark on everyone who knew him.
The statement continued: “While words cannot adequately express our grief, we are humbled by the strength of his family, who stood by his side throughout this unimaginable ordeal.”
The college was later forced to delete and retract the statement after the family confirmed Burnett Jr. was still alive at that point. However, the college student ultimately later died.
“We retract the news of the passing of Medrick Burnett Jr., that was originally advised by an immediate family member on Tuesday evening,” AAMU officials said in a press release, which retracted the original announcement. “Our staff acted accordingly to the wishes of the family member to inform the A&M community and beyond of this unfortunate occurrence.”
The statement continued, “Upon hearing from a representative from UAB hospital this afternoon, we learned that he remains alive. We express our immediate regret for disseminating false information, however, we hold complete joy in knowing that Medrick remains in stable condition.”
Burnett Jr.’s sister, Dominece James, detailed the extent of the injuries sustained in a GoFundMe she organized in a bid to cover the costs associated with trying to save his life.
“His 20th birthday was October 27th and one of the worst birthdays for us because he was in ICU and not doing well,” she wrote.
“He had several brain bleeds and swelling of the brain. He had to have a tube to drain to relieve the pressure, and after 2 days of severe pressure, we had to opt for a craniotomy, which was the last resort to help try to save his life.”
