Joseph Siprut, left, attorney to Daniel Bukal, a star quarterback at Notre Dame College Prep in Niles from 1999 to 2003, listens while attorney Steve Berman speaks at a news conference in this July 29, 2014, file photo.CHICAGO – A former high school quarterback followed in the steps of one-time pro and college players Saturday by suing a sports governing body – in this case the Illinois High School Association – saying it didn’t do enough to protect him from concussions when he played and still doesn’t do enough to protect current players.
The lawsuit, filed in Cook County Circuit Cook on the same day Illinois wrapped up its last high school football championship games, is the first instance in which legal action has been taken for former high school players as a whole against a group responsible for overseeing prep sports in a state. Such litigation could snowball, as similar suits targeting associations in other states are planned.
The lead plaintiff in the lawsuit is Daniel Bukal, a star quarterback at Notre Dame College Prep in Niles from 1999 to 2003. He received multiple concussions playing at the suburban Chicago school and, a decade on, still suffers frequent migraines and has experienced notable memory loss, according to the 51-page suit. Bukal didn’t play beyond high school.
The IHSA did not have concussion protocols in place, putting Bukal and other high school players at risk, and those protocols remain deficient, the lawsuit alleges. It calls on the Bloomington-based IHSA to tighten its rules and regulations regarding head injuries at the 800 high schools it oversees. It does not seek specific monetary damages.
“In Illinois high school football, responsibility — and, ultimately, fault — for the historically poor management of concussions begins with the IHSA,” the lawsuit states. It calls high school concussions “an epidemic” and says the “most important battle being waged on high school football fields … is the battle for the health and lives of” young players.