A former college and NFL football player has sued the NCAA, alleging that repeated head injuries sustained during his playing career led to his diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease.
Patrick O’Neill, 55, was a punter at Syracuse University from 1990 through 1993 before beginning a short professional football career.
He retired from the sport in 1998 to pursue medicine, but now says the neurological damage he suffered on the field has jeopardized the medical career he worked to build.
In the lawsuit, O’Neill claims the NCAA encouraged athletes to continue playing after serious head injuries while failing to properly disclose the potential long-term consequences and risks.
O’Neill, who was an Academic All-American and University Scholar at Syracuse, alleges that repeated concussions caused his Parkinson’s disease and have now forced him to scale back his work as a surgeon.
“The NCAA failed to protect Patrick O’Neill’s health and safety, because it failed to make the game of football as safe as possible, and because it failed to keep Patrick O’Neill informed so he could make reasonable decisions about whether to play college football and how to play it safely,” the lawsuit states.
Former NFL and college football player Patrick O’Neill has sued the NCAA
O’Neill says repeated head injuries sustained during football have damaged his medical career
The Daily Mail has approached the NCAA for comment.
After graduating from Syracuse, O’Neill was chosen by the New England Patriots in the fifth round of the 1994 NFL Draft.
He earned NFL All-Rookie honors as a punter during his first season with New England, later playing for the Chicago Bears, New York Jets and Jacksonville Jaguars.
O’Neill left the NFL in 1998 to follow his ambition of becoming a doctor and was accepted to Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore.
He went on to establish a successful medical career and at one point served as chief of orthopedic surgery at Sarasota Memorial Hospital.
O’Neill currently practices at Kennedy-White Orthopedic Center in Sarasota, Florida, where he is described as the county’s only board-certified, fellowship-trained foot and ankle orthopedic surgeon.
He now fears that career could be coming to an end as Parkinson’s symptoms increasingly affect his ability to work.
Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder affecting the central nervous system. It can interfere with movement, balance and various non-motor functions, often causing tremors, stiffness and slowed movement that worsen over time.
O’Neill played college football at Syracuse from 1990 to 1993 before moving briefly into the NFL
The former punter retired from football in 1998 to pursue a career as a surgeon
The complaint describes O’Neill’s illness as the “direct and proximate result” of the NCAA’s alleged negligence and reckless disregard for his safety as a college football player.
“This brain disease has forced Patrick O’Neill to suffer great loss, including in his ability to practice as an orthopedic surgeon,” the filing alleges.
O’Neill says he repeatedly suffered blows to the head during games and practices. Despite those injuries, he claims he was not taken off the field for medical evaluation, treatment or adequate recovery time.
The lawsuit also alleges that the NCAA had known about the consequences of repeated head trauma, including a possible connection to Parkinson’s disease, since as early as the 1930s.
According to the complaint, the organization nevertheless failed to establish sufficient safety protocols for players. It also claims the NCAA disregarded medical recommendations that athletes be barred from contact sports after sustaining three moderate concussions.
“Despite the NCAA’s knowledge of the potentially catastrophic effects of repetitive mild concussions in football, the NCAA resisted and failed to take basic precautions recommended by the AMA, the AAN and others to mitigate the risk to student football players,” the lawsuit states.
The filing adds: “The NCAA failed to create a safe playing environment for the game of football and failed to warn student football players, their families, and the public about the dangers of repetitive concussive and subconcussive injury.”
O’Neill was selected by the New England Patriots in the fifth round of the 1994 NFL Draft
O’Neill is bringing claims against the NCAA for negligence, fraud, fraudulent concealment and loss of services. He is seeking damages in an unspecified amount.
“In this way, the Defendant NCAA breached its duty to Patrick O’Neill, and the result was that Patrick O’Neill was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease,” the lawsuit says.
A 1992 Big East Special Teams Player of the Year, O’Neill was considered one of the finest punters in Syracuse football history. The university named him to its All-Century team in 1999.
During his 25 NFL games, O’Neill recorded 4,444 punt yards and averaged 39.3 yards per punt.