Samantha Greiber v National Collegiate Athletic Association
Attorneys and Parties
Brief Summary
Liability of a collegiate sports governing body (National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)) for concussion injuries in women’s lacrosse under the primary assumption of risk doctrine and whether failure to change equipment rules (no hard helmets) unreasonably increases risk.
The Supreme Court, Nassau County, denied the NCAA’s motion for summary judgment, allowing the plaintiff’s claims to proceed.
The denial of the NCAA’s summary judgment motion.
The Appellate Division held that the plaintiff, an experienced collegiate lacrosse player, assumed the inherent risk of concussion. The NCAA showed it provided concussion warnings and materials; women’s lacrosse carries a known risk of concussions; and the NCAA did not unreasonably increase risks by maintaining the no–hard helmet rule or conceal risks. The inherent compulsion doctrine did not apply because scholarship pressure is not compulsion by a superior.
Background
The plaintiff, a collegiate women’s lacrosse player at Hofstra University, allegedly sustained two concussions during team practices in March 2013 (struck by a ball) and January 2014 (collision with another player). She sued, including claims against the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), in January 2017. The NCAA moved for summary judgment, relying on the primary assumption of risk doctrine, submitting concussion fact sheets for student-athletes, signed informed consent forms emphasizing concussion severity, NCAA rule and sports medicine materials addressing concussion risks, studies showing concussion frequency in women’s lacrosse, and the plaintiff’s deposition acknowledging awareness of concussion risks from playing women’s lacrosse since childhood and through high school recruitment.
Lower Court Decision
The Supreme Court, Nassau County (Robert A. McDonald, J.), denied the NCAA’s motion for summary judgment dismissing the amended complaint as against it.
Appellate Division Reversal
The Appellate Division reversed, granted the NCAA’s motion, and dismissed the amended complaint as against the NCAA. The court held that concussions are an inherent, commonly appreciated risk of women’s lacrosse; the NCAA’s materials and the plaintiff’s experience demonstrated her awareness and assumption of that risk; maintaining the customary no–hard helmet rule did not unreasonably increase the risk or constitute concealment or recklessness; and the inherent compulsion doctrine was inapplicable because the plaintiff’s testimony that she risked losing her scholarship did not constitute compulsion by a superior.
Legal Significance
Reaffirms the robust application of primary assumption of risk in New York to contact and stick sports at the collegiate level. Governing bodies like the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) are not liable for inherent sport risks where participants are informed and experienced, and they are not required to alter longstanding rules (such as prohibitions on hard helmets in women’s lacrosse) absent evidence of concealed or unreasonably increased risks or recklessness. The inherent compulsion doctrine remains narrow and does not extend to generalized scholarship pressure.
In New York, experienced student-athletes who are informed of concussion risks assume those inherent risks; without proof of concealed or unreasonably increased danger or compulsion by a superior, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is not liable for concussion injuries arising from participation under existing sport rules.