UPDATE
Nov 29, 2024 1:30 PM CST
Medrick Burnett Jr., a 20-year-old Alabama A&M linebacker, has died of a head injury suffered in the Oct. 26 "Magic City Classic" game against Alabama State University. Jefferson County Deputy Coroner Matt Angelo said Friday that Burnett died at 5:43pm Wednesday at UAB Hospital, Fox 42 reports. On Wednesday morning, the Alabama A&M athletic department announced Burnett's death, then sent out a retraction hours later, saying he was still alive, the AP reports. Burnett, who was in his first season with A&M, died after the retraction was released.
Nov 28, 2024 8:30 AM CST
Hours after Alabama A&M announced one of its linebackers had succumbed to a head injury suffered in an Oct. 26 game, the school corrected itself: Medrick Burnett Jr. is still alive. In a Wednesday night retraction posted on X, the athletic department wrote it "was originally advised by an immediate family member on Tuesday evening" that Burnett had died and "acted accordingly to the wishes of the family member to inform the A&M community and beyond."
The post 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." The AP flags a Wednesday update to a GoFundMe campaign for the 20-year-old redshirt freshman that reads, "Please pray he is having a tough time but we are holding on til the very end. God give us strength so we can keep the faith."
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NBC News shares a previous post to the campaign that shed a little more light on the injuries Burnett sustained: "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." (More NCAA football stories.)
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