Cal admits liability in student football player's 2014 death

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ByAlan Wang KGO logo
Saturday, January 30, 2016
Cal admits liability in student football player's 2014 death
UC Berkeley is taking an unprecedented step by admitting liability in the death of one of its student athletes.

BERKELEY, Calif. (KGO) -- UC Berkeley is taking what may be an unprecedented step. The university is now admitting liability in the death of one of its students.

Ted Agu was a member of the Cal football team who died in 2014 after a team workout.

The university will no longer contest the lawsuit filed against it and will now focus on compensating Agu's family.

READ MORE: 21-year-old Cal football player Ted Agu dies

Agu was a walk-on defensive lineman who died during a strenuous workout in 2014. Apparently, school officials knew Agu had a sickle cell blood trait that can be deadly under extreme exertion. The school is now accepting responsibility.

In a statement UC Berkeley said: "During the past two years we have instituted additional medical screening of student-athletes, additional training of coaches and conditioning staff, additional oversight of workout plans, and more detailed counseling of student-athletes with identified medical conditions."

The medical examiner's office initially attributed Agu's death to a heart condition. The cause of his death has now been changed to reflect the sickle cell blood trait.

READ MORE: Memorial held for Cal football player