Alabama A&M football player Medrick Burnett Jr. dies
An Alabama A&M football player who suffered a head injury during a game last month has died, a coroner’s office official said on Friday.
Medrick Burnett Jr., 20, was hurt Oct. 26 when the Bulldogs took on Alabama State in an annual gridiron game known as the Magic City Classic. The redshirt freshman linebacker played in seven games this season after transferring to Alabama A&M from Grambling.
Burnett was pronounced dead on Wednesday, said AJ Clifton, a deputy coroner with the Jefferson County Coroner/Medical Examiner Office. Clifton declined to provide information such as Burnett’s cause and manner of death but said officials were planning on releasing a statement on Saturday.
University officials on Wednesday issued a retraction after erroneously declaring in a statement Burnett had died.
The university’s athletic department called the initial statement an “unfortunate occurrence,” the school said about the deleted announcement online after it was “originally advised by an immediate family member of Burnett’s death on Tuesday evening.
Alabama A&M did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment.
