After months of legal wrangling, the parents of deceased Northwestern football player Rashidi Wheeler decided Tuesday to work together to pursue the wrongful-death lawsuit filed against the university on their son’s behalf. But an NU official said the decision won’t impact the university’s investigation into the cause of Wheeler’s Aug. 3 death.
Thomas Demetrio, a lawyer for Rashidi’s father, George Wheeler, said the player’s parents, who have been divorced for nearly 20 years, agreed to take joint control of Rashidi’s estate moments before appearing in Cook Country Probate Court on Tuesday afternoon. The parents will become joint plaintiffs in the suit filed against NU on Aug. 23.
The suit names seven members of NU’s athletic department, including Director of Athletics Rick Taylor and head football coach Randy Walker.
Wheeler’s mother, Linda Will, and George Wheeler each had sought total control of their son’s estate since his death after running conditioning drills. Wheeler’s parents now have an equal say in whether to settle the suit or take the case to court.
In a report released Oct. 9, NU lawyers said the school planned to re-examine blood and fluid samples from Wheeler’s autopsy. This was a challenge to the toxicology test performed by the Cook County Office of the Medical Examiner, which concluded that Rashidi’s severe asthma caused his death. On the day the report was released, University President Henry Bienen hinted in a memo that an NCAA-banned dietary supplement might have been a factor in Wheeler’s death.
The memo strongly supported the training staff, saying they acted “appropriately, even valiantly,” in their attempts to save Rashidi’s life.
Alan Cubbage, NU’s vice president for university relations, said the family’s decision won’t affect NU’s review of the case.
Demetrio declined to comment on the nature of the disagreement that had kept Rashidi’s parents from acting as co-administers of his estate.
“Both (Wheeler and Will) have been grieving a lot for the last 90 days,” he said.
With custody of Wheeler’s estate settled, Demetrio said, the focus returns to the suit itself. Both Wheeler’s family and the university will continue to exchange information and collect depositions.
“It’ll be a battle of experts,” Demetrio said.
He said he expects the case to last about three years.
Demetrio also said the family’s decision concerning Rashidi’s estate should not hamper NU’s investigation.
The lawsuit claims that NU failed to provide a competent athletic training staff for the summer workout in which Wheeler died. It specifically cites the staff’s poor medical care and inadequate resources to deal with such an emergency.
“Everybody’s still trying to figure out what happened factually,” Demetrio said. “Assuming Rashidi’s life could have been saved, we are trying to find if there was any action or inaction on behalf of the defendant that was an approximate cause of premature death.”
