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Calvin “CJ” Dickey Jr. was a college football player who had many interests outside the game.

He loved to cook, travel and go to museums, said his parents. They also said their son loved history and science and wanted to be a pharmacist.

“He was more than just an athlete,’’ his mother, Nicole, told USA TODAY Sports.

However, Dickey had a condition that has afflicted other athletes over the years. He was diagnosed in 2024 with the sickle cell trait, which has been linked to the deaths of 14 college football players since 2000, according to the National Registry of Catastrophic Sports Injuries (NRCSI). The death toll is 30 on a list that dates to 1963.

Dickey was an 18-year-old freshman when he collapsed July 10, 2024, on the first day of the Bucknell football team’s workouts. He died two days later in a hospital, and a medical examiner’s autopsy and a private autopsy both cited sickle cell trait as a cause.

Questions about negligence and how to prevent similar deaths among college athletes have emerged since then.

The genetic disorder is found in about one of 12 Black Americans and in about one in 500 white Americans. Dickey was Black. On April 3, an attorney representing Dickey’s parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Bucknell. They allege the school knew Dickey had sickle cell trait but failed to take action that could have prevented his death.

The risks are greatest when players overexert themselves in high temperatures. But sickle cell experts say that by following universal precautions, such as adequate hydration and rest, athletes who have the trait can still safely compete.

What is sickle cell trait?

For those with…

Source link : https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2025/04/23/bucknell-football-death-sickle-cell-trait-cj-dickey/83095140007/

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Publish date : 2025-04-23 10:50:00

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