Just a few days ago, former Oregon player Doug Brenner filed a lawsuit against Willie Taggart, strength coach Irele Oderinde, Oregon and the NCAA seeking $11.5 million in damages related to the workouts the coaching staff imposed in early January 2017 shortly after Taggart was hired and he brought Oderinde to Oregon.
Well, now comes news that another player who suffered through those workouts and was subsequently hospitalized for a week thereafter is suing Taggart, Oderinde, etc... In this case, offensive lineman Sam Poutasi is seeking $5 million in damages citing, "physical and emotional pain, inconvenience, loss of enjoyment of life, and diminishment of avocational abilities". Poutasi was redshirted in 2016 and just finished his sophomore season. He remains an active member of the team.
Per OregonLive, Poutaski was hospitalized from January 13th - 20th for acute exertional rhabdomyolysis and suffered from “severely swollen arms, muscle aches and pains, loss of use of arms, elevated creatinine kinase levels caused by AER, discolored urine and damage to kidneys.”
Notably, this lawsuit makes the exact same claim that Brenner's did...that players were not permitted to drink water during the first day of the multi-day workouts.
OregonLive sought, but has not received, comment from Taggart and Oderinde via Florida State. Head there for more details on the lawsuit.
This one seems to have a lot of ripples and doesn't appear to have an end in sight. We'll keep you posted as more plays out in these matters.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest information in the coaching profession.