- On March 16, 2023, The Kentucky University agrees to $14 million settlement to the family of a student wrestler who died during practice.
- 20 year old, Grant Brace, died on 31 August, 2020 from heat stroke, when he was training for new wrestling season.
“He begged for water and his coaches refused to allow him water”, said the lawsuit. According to his Lawyer, “He was diagnosed with ADHD and narcolepsy, which require proper hydration”. His lawyer further added, “Brace a native of Louisville, after the difficult practice at punishment hill (the campus area) became profoundly disoriented”.
The lawsuit said, “coaches mocked him when he asked for a water break, saying “Do you think you are special and are allowed more water”? On the day of his death, “Brace sat down out of exhaustion, begged for water and was speaking in gibberish phrases”, said the lawsuit. “He was searching for a water fountain, but he died and the coaches found him dead, about 45 minutes later. His hands were drenched in the grass and dirt, according to the suit.
Brace was a member of the National Honors Society and was also an excellent football player.
The University could have defeated the lawsuit, the university spokesperson said, “but the legal process would have been long, difficult and costly, ending years from now in a trial with an uncertain outcome”. The university now made the decision to settle the case of Brace’s death in order to respect the tremendous loss of Brace’s family”. The university of the Cumberland will also participate in a heat – illness awareness programme and it will help to raise awareness for heat – related injuries, the spokesperson added.
Jerry Jackson, the university’s chancellor, said in a statement, “Grant Brace was a talented, young man entering his junior year with a bright future ahead of him”. “Our university community continues to mourn his untimely loss. We sincerely hope that resolving this matter early in the legal process will after the Brace family a measure of peace and healing”.
