ORANGEBURG, S.C. (AP) — The NCAA owes a former college football player and his wife $18 million, a South Carolina jury decided while finding college sports’ major governing body negligent in failing to warn the player about the long-term effects of concussions. Following a civil trial that wrapped up late last week, Orangeburg County jurors awarded $10 million to 68-year-old Robert Geathers, who played at South Carolina State University from 1977 to 1980 as a defensive end. His wife, Debra, was awarded $8 million, according to a court document. A physician diagnosed Robert Geathers with dementia several years ago, The Times and Democrat newspaper in Orangeburg reported. Now he has trouble with day-to-day tasks such as dressing himself and helping making meals. Other physicians who testified at the trial said Geathers displays symptoms of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease found in former football players who received repeated blows to their heads while playing. CTE can be diagnosed only posthumously. The couple’s attorneys argued to jurors that blows Geathers took during practices and games for the historically Black school in Orangeburg caused trauma that didn’t show up until decades later, the newspaper reported. Geathers attorney Bakari Sellers said the NCAA knew about concussion risks since the 1930s, and when Geathers’ college career ended, but didn’t tell coaches or players about those risks until later. “All of the information they knew, they withheld,” Sellers told jurors, adding that “their job was to keep the boys safe." The verdict can be appealed. In a statement released through a spokesperson, the NCAA said Saturday that it disagreed with the verdict and that it was "prepared to pursue our rights on post-trial motions and on appeal, if necessary.” “The NCAA has prevailed in every other jury trial around the country on these issues," and the South Carolina State team standards “followed the knowledge that existed at the time, and college football did not cause Mr. Geathers’ lifelong health problems," the statement said. NCAA trial attorney Andy Fletcher said at the trial that Geathers has several health conditions that influence dementia-like symptoms, and that the NCAA’s football rules committee is composed of representatives of member schools that could propose rules. “There’s going to be head-hits. That’s inherent to the game. You can’t take head-hits out of football,” Fletcher said in closing arguments. According to the newspaper, the jury determined the NCAA “unreasonably increased the risk of harm of head impacts to Robert Geathers over and above the risks inherent to playing football.” And it also determined the NCAA “voluntarily assumed duties to protect the health and safety of Robert Geathers” and that the NCAA “negligently breached their duties” to him. After the trial, Sellers said the result provided justice: “I felt good to hug Debra Geathers. She gets to go home and tell her husband some good news.”

A man who says he was detained by police for following an Ohio National Guard patrol while playing Darth Vader's theme song from “Star Wars” on his phone sued the District of Columbia on Thursday, claiming the officers violated his constitutional rights. Sam O'Hara's federal lawsuit says the ominous orchestral music of “The Imperial March” is the soundtrack for his peaceful protests against President Donald Trump's deployment of Guard members in Washington, D.C. Millions of TikTok users have viewed O'Hara's videos of his interactions with troops, according to the suit, filed by American Civil Liberties Union attorneys. O’Hara, a 35-year-old Washington resident, says he didn’t interfere with the Ohio National Guard troops during their Sept. 11 encounter on a public street. One of the troops summoned Metropolitan Police Department officers, who stopped O'Hara and kept him handcuffed for 15 to 20 minutes before releasing him without charges, according to the lawsuit. “The law might have tolerated government conduct of this sort a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. But in the here and now, the First Amendment bars government officials from shutting down peaceful protests,” his lawsuit says. O'Hara also sued four MPD officers and the Guard member who called them to the scene. The suit accuses them of violating his First Amendment rights to free speech and his Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable seizures and excessive force. O'Hara is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. Spokespeople for Mayor Muriel Bowser's office and the police department declined to comment on the suit's claims. The MPD spokesperson said the four officers named as defendants all remain on full duty. A spokesperson for the Ohio National Guard didn't immediately respond to emails seeking comment. In August, Trump, a Republican, issued an executive order declaring a crime emergency in Washington. Within a month, more than 2,300 National Guard troops from eight states and the district were patrolling the city under the command of the secretary of the Army. Trump also deployed hundreds of federal agents to assist in patrols. Trump's law enforcement surge has inflamed tensions with residents of the heavily Democratic district. District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb has sued Trump to end it. O'Hara's lawsuit says he became “deeply concerned about the normalization of troops patrolling D.C. neighborhoods.” “To many District residents, the deployment constituted an attack on D.C.’s autonomy and a dangerous departure from the Nation’s tradition of barring troops from policing civilians,” the suit says. O'Hara had staged and recorded other “Star Wars”-themed protests against Guard deployments. The troops mostly ignored him, the suit says. On Sept. 11, O'Hara was returning home from work when he began following four armed Guard members from Ohio. Less than two minutes later, one of the troops warned him that he would summon police officers to “handle” him if he kept following them, according to the suit. The police officers who arrived minutes later accused O'Hara of harassing the troops, which he denied. They detained him without conducting any investigation and ignored his complaints that the handcuffs were too tight, the suit alleges. “Mr. O’Hara brings this suit to ensure accountability, secure compensation for his injuries, and vindicate core constitutional guarantees,” the suit says. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, who was nominated to the bench by Trump.

Michelino Sunseri climbed past boulders on his way to a record-breaking feat: The extreme runner reached the summit of Grand Teton, one of the highest mountains in the American West, and then rushed back down, all in less than three hours. The National Park Service, however, didn’t celebrate. Instead, it charged him with a crime. Sunseri was found guilty of a misdemeanor for spending just two minutes during the run on a prohibited trail in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. The remarkable solo triumph in 2024 has been overshadowed by his legal saga. “Free Michelino” stickers are on posts and benches in Jackson, Wyoming. Sunseri’s supporters, including members of Congress, are appalled by what they consider to be a glaring example of excessive enforcement by the government. But Sunseri, 33, may be getting a break. His lawyer, Alex Rienzie, said prosecutors have agreed to seek a dismissal if the runner completes 60 hours of community service and a course on wilderness stewardship. A judge expressed concern about the shift Tuesday and still would need to sign off. Another hearing was set for Nov. 18. “It is an evolution of what is right and was made to preserve prosecutive and judicial resources while upholding the best interests of the public and the justice system,” the U.S. Attorney's Office in Wyoming said. Sunseri said he's hopeful for a “rational and reasonable agreement” that puts the matter behind him. Prosecutors had repeatedly said the ban on shortcutting designated trails is on the park’s website, the park map and in other places. They insisted on pressing ahead with a two-day trial last May, despite a lack of support from officials in the new Trump administration. Joey Wilson of Salt Lake City, an ultramarathoner who designs training programs for athletes, said the significance of Sunseri’s achievement sometimes gets lost. “It’s an unbelievable thing that he accomplished — world class,” Wilson said. Boulders as big as houses Sunseri defended himself by saying he took the same route as many previous record holders on Grand Teton, including Kilian Jornet, one of the world's greatest mountain athletes, in 2012, without any blowback from the Park Service. He set out on Sept. 2, 2024, sharing the mountain with Labor Day holiday hikers. The path starts flat and wide before becoming extremely rocky on the way up. “There are boulders the size of small houses,” said Wilson, whose father was a park ranger. “You've got to use your hands. If your hands were to pop off in a couple of places, you're going to fall a long way down.” Sunseri also had to confront a series of switchbacks as the Garnet Canyon Trail zigged and zagged like a maze. On his way down, shirtless and wearing a hat backwards, he made a split-second decision that would later land him in court: He left a switchback to avoid casual hikers and possible injury, taking a path known as the Old Climber's Trail for two minutes. “I was ahead of pace,” said Sunseri, who had trained by running the mountain more than 40 times. “I knew I was going to get the record regardless of which trail I took. I didn't want to be yelling at people to get out of my way.” A small sign where he entered the trail says, “Short Cutting Causes Erosion,” while another at the other end says, “Closed For Regrowth.” Sunseri said there was no vegetation to destroy on the steep, narrow, hard-packed ground. ‘Stoked’ by his record time Later, Sunseri dropped to his knees in exhaustion at the base of the mountain. He had set a new fastest-known time on Grand Teton — “FKT” in the running community — of 2 hours, 50 minutes, 50 seconds. Sunseri had run a total of 13.3 miles (21.4 kilometers) while gaining an elevation of 7,000 feet (2,133 meters) on his way up the mountain. The summit rests at 13,775 feet (4,198 meters). “I was stoked," he recalled. “It's one of those things where every single thing has to go right — and everything did go right.” Andy Anderson didn’t bypass switchbacks during his record run in 2012, but Sunseri said he still had his blessing. They had dinner in Truckee, California, and Anderson handed over the prize: a handmade box bearing a commemorative belt buckle and listing the names of past Grand Teton record holders. Search warrants to get evidence Sunseri wrote about his epic run on social media. Those words doomed him. Federal investigators used search warrants to get access to the posts, which led to a misdemeanor charge of shortcutting a designated trail in the national park. U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephanie Hambrick found him guilty in a 51-page opinion released in September. She noted the testimony of Park Service Ranger Michelle Altizer, who said Sunseri's “actions were high profile” and that the potential to deter others was “very high and an important consideration” in citing him. Sunseri's lawyers argued that the signs on Old Climber's Trail did not explicitly prohibit entry. “The trail has been sitting in its current state for decades,” Wilson told The Associated Press. “If they really wanted to close that trail they could plant seeds over it and put a log down. Trail closed. Do not cross.” Prosecutors pushed ahead After the spring trial, emails obtained by the defense team revealed that Park Service officials in Washington had told prosecutors on the eve of trial that they were withdrawing their support. A U.S. Interior Department lawyer referred to President Donald Trump's order “fighting overcriminalization” in federal regulations. “We're continuing with the prosecution,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Romine in Wyoming wrote back. Because of the court case, Sunseri's performance on Grand Teton is not being recognized by fastestknowntime.com, a website for the best times on routes considered to have remarkable scenery or historical and cultural value around the world. In Congress, U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., is sponsoring a bill that would make willful intent a requirement for prosecuting certain crimes like Sunseri's trail-cutting misdemeanor. He called the case a “prime example of the problem of overcriminalization.”