In a week 5 game versus Vanderbilt, Christion Abercrombie, linebacker for Tennessee State University, suffered from a head injury and collapsed on the sideline. He was rushed to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center for a CT. When the results came back, he was rushed into emergency surgery. He remains in critical condition but is showing signs of recovery.
In response to this tragic event, two fans created two different GoFundMe pages to raise money for Abercrombie’s expenses and bills. The two fans, Nashville citizen Jake Waddell and TSU head coach’s sister Fachon Reed, were told that they needed to take the pages down after the NCAA said Abercrombie’s eligibility may be in jeopardy because it violates NCAA rules.
NCAA rules state “A loan of money, regardless of temporary nature of loan, intent to pay back the value, or whom the loan is from (i.e. parents of teammates are not appropriate persons to offer loans to student athletes.)”. Another section reiterates “Cash, or the equivalent thereof (e.g., trust fund), as an award for participation in competition at any time, even if such an award is permitted under the rules governing an amateur, non-collegiate event in which the individual is participating. An award or a cash prize that an individual could not receive under NCAA legislation may not be forwarded in the individual’s name to a different individual or agency”. They justified this rule in Abercrombie’s situation by claiming they did not want him to profit from his injury. However, the money being raised is not considered a loan or an award.
After much backlash, the NCAA made it clear that they weren’t opposed to helping Abercrombie, they just couldn’t approve of those particular GoFundMe pages. In fact, an NCAA spokeswoman stated, “Contrary to inaccurate statements, the NCAA is working with Tennessee State and supports its efforts as the community rallies around Christion Abercrombie and his family”. The NCAA and TSU stated they would be paying medical bills as part of an insurance policy, but many argue this is not enough.
Although NCAA rules are concrete and cannot change to favor one person, Abercrombie’s situation should have been an exception. Many athletes who endure serious injuries such as this are often unable to return to their respective sport which means they may lose their scholarships. Even worse, some athletes may not even be able to recover fully and return to their normal self. At this point, it is almost heartless to let these athletes go without any sort of compensation. However, it would take a lot of reform in NCAA rules to grant this policy.
Do you believe that the NCAA should have allowed the GoFundMe pages to remain active? Do you think the NCAA needs to reevaluate some of their rules? If so, what? And why?
