Parents Sue PA University After Football Player's Death

LEWISBURG, PA — A Florida family is suing Bucknell University in Pennsylvania, claiming their son suffered a "horrible and painful death" as a result of hazing during his first day of football practice at the Lewisburg school.

Calvin "CJ" Dickey, 18, was doing "up-downs" with his teammates when he collapsed during a workout at the Pascucci Team Center gym on July 10, 2023, according to the lawsuit filed in the Court of Common Pleas in Philadelphia County on Wednesday.

Dickey, who had previously tested positive for sickle cell trait, was hospitalized and died two days later. According to court documents, he died after suffering from acute kidney failure and sickle cell-related rhabdomyolysis, a medical condition that is prevented by stopping exercise.

In the lawsuit, Dickey's parents said the university was aware their son had sickle cell trait and "failed to take the necessary steps" to protect him.

"CJ’s death was completely avoidable," the lawsuit states. "If (the defendants) had followed well-established, well-known practices to protect athletes who have sickle cell trait, CJ would still be alive today."

According to the lawsuit, Dickey arrived at Bucknell the day he collapsed to attend a team meeting. That afternoon, the athletes went through a “walkthrough” practice outdoors before freshmen were told to report to the Pascucci Team Center gym for a light workout with no weights

Once the players were in the workout room, the lawsuit claims that several freshmen players "messed up some drills." As punishment, all freshmen were forced to perform 100 up-downs, or "burpees."

According to court documents, Mark Kulbis, a strength and conditioning coach at Bucknell, pushed Dickey to continue the up-downs, despite fellow players and witnesses noticing that Dickey was struggling and in distress.

The lawsuit claims that "it is an annual rite of passage for the freshman athletes to be compelled... to perform intense, rigorous exercises that more senior players are not required to (do)."

"No purpose is served other than gratuitous cruelty. Each must perform or be benched or cut," the lawsuit states. "For CJ, that proved fatal."

Following his hospitalization, court documents say Dickey's health rapidly declined and he was placed on dialysis. He also underwent emergency surgery to relieve pressure in his extremities, during which his heart stopped. Dickey suffered cardiac arrest multiple times following the surgery, the lawsuit states, before his parents asked doctors to stop trying to resuscitate him.

The lawsuit goes on to accuse Bucknell University of "refusing to acknowledge it caused CJ’s death, to apologize or institute processes and procedures to prevent a similar tragedy from happening again. "

Dickey's family is accusing the school of negligence, wrongful death and other claims, according to the lawsuit. The family is seeking financial compensation from the university and hopes the lawsuit will prompt the school to take responsibility for his death.

"We do this for CJ, for every young man on that team, and anyone who comes after him, and anyone at any university," his mother, Nicole Dickey, said at a news conference Wednesday. "This is a longer, harder path, and I am ready for it. My boy is worth it."