In July of 2024, Calvin “CJ” Dickey Jr., a freshman football player for Bucknell University attending the team’s pre-semester training, collapsed from symptoms stemming from his sickle cell-related rhabdomyolysis (rhabdo) during their first team workout. Dickey was immediately hospitalized following his collapse, was ultimately transferred to a trauma hospital and died in that hospital two days later. This past Wednesday, Nicole and Calvin Dickey Sr., Dickey’s parents, filed a civil suit against Bucknell University related to the wrongful death of their son.
Dickey’s mother, Nicole, recalls her son’s presence as being one of joy. “CJ brightened every room he entered, and he put a smile on the face of each person he met.”
Rhabdomyolysis, the breaking down and death of muscle, can develop when an individual who has a pre-existing sickle cell condition experiences excessive exertion resulting in the “sickling,” or curvature and flattening resembling a moon shape, of red blood cells that then create a blockage in capillaries and deprive oxygen and blood flow from muscles throughout the body. The affected muscles then release toxins that damage organs and, for some patients, like Dickey, result in death.
The NCAA has required sickle cell testing for all football players across divisions since 2010; experts have been aware of the increased risk of rhabdomyolysis as a result of holding the sickle cell trait, particularly in athletes, for over 50 years. Dickey tested positive for sickle cell as a teen before accepting a position on Bucknell’s football team and had notified Bucknell’s athletics department of his condition upon admittance.
Attorney Stuart Price of the firm Price Caspino, representing the Dickeys in their suit against Bucknell alongside firm partner Michael Caspino, commented on the “well known” nature of the NCAA’s “detailed guidelines” that were instituted to “ensure the safety of sickle cell positive athletes.” In his words, “the protocols are […] universally followed […] except [by] Bucknell. The NCAA requires coaches [who are] training sickle cell positive athletes to allow them to set their own pace in early practices, avoid ‘mat drills’ [and] have an athletic trainer present for every workout.” According to both Price and the filed suit, Bucknell followed none of those guidelines. “The coach running the workout [on the day of Dickey’s collapse] made CJ do the same brutal workout [as the rest of the team, and] had no athletic trainer present. Bucknell literally worked CJ to death.”
“The death of a child is always a tragedy, but CJ’s death is particularly tragic because it was 100% preventable,” added attorney Michael Caspino. “If Bucknell had followed the NCAA’s most basic recommendations, CJ would today be working toward his college degree. His death is inexcusable. Equally horrific is Bucknell’s refusal to provide details on what happened that day. This litigation seeks the answers that these parents deserve.”
In the months since Dickey’s death, Bucknell has not shared details concerning the tragedy with Dickey’s family, nor have they publicly accepted responsibility for his passing. “Because of Bucknell’s reckless disregard for our son’s health, the world is forever robbed of CJ’s light,” Dickey’s mother said. “While nothing that Bucknell can do will bring our son back, we deserve answers.”
“As Nicole and I try to grapple with our new reality, the first thing we want are answers about what happened,” agreed Dickey’s father. “We want to know how this was allowed to happen, and so far, Bucknell has not answered any of our questions. We also want Bucknell to take responsibility for CJ’s death. CJ did not have to die, and the blame lays solely on the University. Finally, we want Bucknell to sponsor education programs to ensure that no other college athlete is subjected to the pain and suffering that CJ experienced.”
In accordance with those needs expressed by the family, the lawsuit’s goals are to compel Bucknell to release the facts surrounding Dickey’s death and take responsibility for the tragedy, compensate the Dickey family for the loss of their son and sponsor the education systems Dickey Sr. references to eliminate the possibility of another athlete experiencing what Dickey did.
