L.A. County native, reported dead by college after football injury, is alive and stable

Tributes rolled in Wednesday morning shortly after Alabama A&M’s athletic department announced the death of a Southern California native who suffered severe injuries in a football game last month.

The historically Black college’s athletic director praised the student-athlete as “a remarkable young man whose positive energy, leadership, and compassion left an indelible mark on everyone who knew him.”

That announcement led to an outpouring of grief.

Rival Grambling State, where the young man had transferred from, sent condolences and prayers via X.

Even the student’s former Southern California high school coach spoke of his “grief and disbelief” over the 20-year-old’s passing.

Back in Alabama, however, Medrick Burnett Jr., a Lakewood resident and former star at Mayfair High School, remained alive.

Why he was erroneously reported as dead and why the news was disseminated and picked up by outlets such as ESPN and the Associated Press remains a mystery.

Burnett is listed as stable but on life support, Alabama A&M confirmed Wednesday. The university retracted its earlier news release, apologized and issued a new statement.

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“We express our immediate regret for disseminating false information; however, we hold complete joy in knowing that Medrick remains in stable condition,” the statement said.

Alabama A&M officials said they were advised by an immediate family member Tuesday evening of Burnett’s passing. The school informed the community of his death as requested by that family member, according to Alabama A&M.

The university did not confirm whom they spoke with.

They did acknowledge, however, that staff from the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital, where Burnett is hospitalized, informed them Wednesday that he was alive.

Source link : https://www.yahoo.com/news/l-county-native-reported-dead-024219193.html

Author : LA Times

Publish date : 2024-11-28 02:42:00

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