Lawyers allege Northwestern covered up death of football player

CHICAGO -- Lawyers for the mother of a Northwestern University football player who died during a 2001 training session said Tuesday they will file an amended lawsuit alleging the school tried to cover up the circumstances of his death.

The new complaint, which attorneys said they plan to file Wednesday, also will add makers and sellers of dietary supplements containing ephedra as defendants -- a decision Northwestern says supports its claim that the supplements, not poor medical care, caused Rashidi Wheeler's death.

The planned filing comes just weeks after Dr. Mark Gardner, a former Northwestern physician, admitted in a deposition that he burned records of a physical he performed three weeks before Rashidi Wheeler died.

"The destruction of this critical medical record followed Dr. Gardner's extensive consultation about Rashidi's death with Northwestern lawyers and officials," attorneys James D. Montgomery and Johnnie Cochran said.

The lawyers said they will name Gardner as a defendant in the new complaint.

Walter Jones, an attorney for Northwestern, called allegations of a cover-up "absolutely scandalous," noting that Gardner testified he acted alone without consulting anyone from Northwestern. Jones said the planned filing proves what Northwestern has said all along -- that ephedra caused Wheeler's death.

"These allegations against Northwestern are merely to save face and are no more than a subterfuge," Jones said.

Wheeler collapsed and died on Aug. 3, 2001, after participating in a conditioning drill. His parents sued Northwestern, claiming officials did not give their son, an asthmatic, timely or adequate medical treatment.

Northwestern argues ephedra-containing supplements Wheeler was taking caused an irregular heartbeat that led to his death. The university had added manufacturers and sellers of the supplements to the lawsuit as third-party defendants.

In their statement, Montgomery and Cochran said they still believe Northwestern's failure to provide proper care caused Wheeler's death. But they said because the statute of limitations to add defendants expires on Aug. 2, 2003, they decided to include the supplement makers and sellers as a precaution.

At a deposition earlier this month, Gardner testified that during a physical on July 12, 2001, Wheeler wrote on a questionnaire that he was taking an "energy shake." The doctor said he advised Wheeler to stop using the shake until he talked to the team trainer.

Gardner testified he was distraught after Wheeler's death and four days later drove to a lagoon, where he tore up the original and a copy of Wheeler's questionnaire and burned them.

The doctor went on leave after Wheeler's death and resigned in April 2002.

Dick Donohue, an attorney for Gardner, said the destruction of the records, while tragic, should not affect the outcome of the case.

"Whatever happened after the fact had nothing to do with what happened at the time of Rashidi Wheeler's death," Donohue said.