oklahoma city– Lawyers for the family of an Oklahoma junior college basketball player He died after suffering a head injury During one of the matches, he said on Thursday that the student was elbowed by another player and accused the team of not providing proper medical care before returning him to the field.
Ethan Dietz, 20, died Nov. 25 after suffering a blow to the head during a basketball game in Texas three days earlier. He was a student at Connors State College in the small town of Warner, Oklahoma.
The school provided few details after Dietz’s death about how he was injured and the care provided. A spokesman for the junior college, which has nearly 3,000 students, did not answer questions about the type of medical care Dietz received after his injury in a statement issued Thursday.
“Connors State College’s top priority at this time remains the care of Ethan’s family, the team and the CSC community as they continue to mourn this heartbreaking loss,” the statement read. “The college is not aware of any active or pending litigation related to this matter and cannot comment on any potential claim.”
Several weeks after Dietz’s death,… College announced that Bill Muse, CSC’s longtime men’s basketball coach and athletics director, was stepping down from the program for “personal reasons.”
Michael Holden, the family’s lawyer, claimed in a statement that Dietz was denied immediate medical evaluation and was returned to the game following the injury.
Dietz joined his team on the two-hour bus ride home and was taken to the hospital after having seizures in his bedroom, according to Holden. The law firm said it was investigating the death but had not filed a lawsuit.
Phone and email messages left Thursday with the Oklahoma Medical Examiner’s Office were not immediately returned. According to Holden’s statement, the pathologist who examined Dietz’s body reported the cause of death as blunt force trauma to the head and blood pooling between his skull and brain.
Dietz was a 6-foot-8 forward from Conway, Arkansas, who averaged 11 points per game over eight games last season.
Crystal Dietz said in the statement provided by Holden that her son dreamed of becoming a Division I basketball player.
“He’s been grinding all year to better himself for next season,” Dietz said. “He had the discipline, dedication and work ethic necessary to achieve this kind of dream, if only he was given the time.”