Mitch Carter testifies during the civil trail of his lawsuit against the Kern High School District for negligence as a result of injuries he sustained from a beating during a pep rally at Bakersfield High School in 2010. 
 
 Attorney Nicholas Rowley donned this costume to make a point during closing arguments in the case of his client Mitch Carter versus the Kern High School District. Carter was roughed up while wearing a similar chicken outfit at a 2010 BHS pep rally skit meant to mock Clovis West school’s mascot, the Golden Eagles. 
 
 Mitch Carter testifies during the civil trail of his lawsuit against the Kern High School District for negligence as a result of injuries he sustained from a beating during a pep rally at Bakersfield High School in 2010. 
 
 Attorney Nicholas Rowley donned this costume to make a point during closing arguments in the case of his client Mitch Carter versus the Kern High School District. Carter was roughed up while wearing a similar chicken outfit at a 2010 BHS pep rally skit meant to mock Clovis West school’s mascot, the Golden Eagles. 
 
 The Kern High School District agreed Wednesday to pay $10.5 million to a former student injured in a violent dog pile that broke out during a 2010 Bakersfield High School pep rally, cutting short an ongoing civil trial that threatened to cost the district’s insurance company even more money. 
 
 The student, Mitch Carter, will use that money for healthcare-related costs, his trial attorney Nicholas Rowley said during a press conference outside Kern County Superior Court. 
 
 A jury had already found the district liable for Carter’s injuries, which his lawyers said included brain damage. It was in the process of determining monetary damages and was expected to award more than $45 million, Rowley said based on interviews his side conducted with jurors in court Wednesday. 
 
 “They would have given him more, but the school district would have appealed,” Rowley said, adding the appeals process could have lasted years. Carter needs that money now, he said. 
 
 The district’s insurance company, New Jersey-based Everest National Insurance Company, will pay the lion’s share of that $10.5 million settlement, Rowley said. 
 
 “No matter what, I'd trade everything just to have a full functioning brain,” Carter said outside court Wednesday. “But I think that this is a good step in the right direction.” 
 
 INEXCUSABLE BUT A SURPRISE 
 
 Carter was mobbed by a group of students in 2010 when he put on a chicken costume meant to mock an opposing team’s mascot during a pep rally the day of a championship football game. Members of the football team pounced on him, punching, kicking and leaping onto a dog pile that Carter has said left him with a traumatic brain injury. 
 
 Jurors found the district negligent. 
 
 Defense attorney Michael Kellar on Wednesday described what happened to Carter in 2010 as “embarrassing and inexcusable,” and that it never should have occurred, “but came as a total surprise and sudden surprise to school staff.” 
 
 He said KHSD’s insurance company made the decision to settle, wanting to reduce the risk of an even higher jury award than the $10.5 million. 
 
 In an emailed statement, KHSD officials said they will reevaluate their safety policies in light of the incident and accept responsibility. 
 
 “We understand the reasons why Self-Insured Schools of California and the excess insurance carrier chose to settle this case,” the statement reads. “The District is going to take this opportunity to evaluate its standards, policies and practices to ensure that every student is educated in a safe and secure environment — because every parent and student should expect nothing less. 
 
 “We sincerely wish Mr. Carter and his family all the best as they move forward.” 
 
 The settlement ended a seven-day civil trial that shed light on shoddy safety practices at Kern High School District, revealed questionable policies and disorganization between the KHSD Police Department and school administrators, was fraught with accusations of conspiracy and cover-up and concluded with a lawyer donning a chicken suit in court. 
 
 At one point, when Kellar made an objection asking what the “chicken dance” was early in the trial, Rowley came close to demonstrating it in court. 
 
 “Do we need to go over what the chicken dance is?” Rowley asked. 
 
 A CHANGE IN POLICY 
 
 When Carter stepped into his chicken suit Dec 10, 2010, his attorneys said he became part of a tradition at Bakersfield High School. That tradition is one where students or teachers are asked to dress up in a costume of the opposing team's mascot and take a beating before a big game. 
 
 It happened to teacher Bob Stone in 2005, they said, something defense attorneys attempted to have excluded as evidence. 
 
 Rowley said he's confident the jury's verdict and the settlement will force KHSD to change policy and never allow this to happen again or else “we'll be at that next school board meeting. 
 
 “When a jury speaks, people listen,” he said. 
 
 Carter's lead attorney, Ralph Wegis, had in the past turned down settlement offers of $50,000 and $1 million before the trial began June 16. 
 
 KHSD IS ‘DESPICABLE’ 
 
 Rowley, who questioned the majority of witnesses, said he bears “no bad blood” with Bakersfield High School. But Wegis, who has called the district's actions “despicable,” won't be satisfied until administration reorganizes, he said. 
 
 “It's going to continue to be despicable until I hear from the school district that we have fired somebody and we have fired them because that's not who we want to be in the future,” Wegis said. 
 
 He'd start by eliminating top administrators, he said, and terminating anyone who lied during the trial. That includes Bakersfield High School Head Football Coach Paul Golla, whom Wegis says he was able to impeach as a witness. 
 
 Golla testified Thursday that he wasn’t in the gym when the dog pile took place. But a scout from USC testified Monday that he watched the dog pile form and was sitting next to Golla at the time. 
 
 “I would go down with every single person that had their fingerprints on this, so everybody who doesn't have their fingerprints on it says you could lose your job if safety isn't No. 1,” Wegis said. “If you lie in court you could lose your job. That’s not the example we're setting for our children.” 
 
 Rowley told reporters Wednesday that there “was some confusion” when Golla said he was not in the gym. Kellar remains steadfast in his Golla’s testimony. 
 
 “He said he wasn't there. So I'm taking him at his word, and you know, there may be some misunderstanding from the other coach as to when they did leave or if Golla left before him or if Coach Golla's attention was distracted somewhere else,” Kellar said. 
 
 That testimony, however, didn’t play a significant role in determining the district’s liability, Kellar said. 
 
 “I think it's incorrect to assign any claim that these employees lied or intentionally misled. Because I think that’s just the opposite and they had nothing to gain by it,” Kellar said. 
 
 CONSPIRACY THEORY ‘RIDICULOUS’ 
 
 Meanwhile, during his closing statements, Rowley accused the district of carrying on a “conspiracy” and “cover-up.” 
 
 Neither Golla nor BHS Activities Director Anna Lovan saw the dog pile form, they both testified. The lone KHSD police officer investigating the matter hadn’t seen the witness reports taken by school administrators until he was presented with them during the trial. 
 
 BHS Principal David Reese testified that he had no advance knowledge that a chicken suit would be used in a pep rally skit, but Lovan testified later that he approved it. 
 
 This was all orchestrated, Rowley asserted during trial. 
 
 Kellar called that assertion “ridiculous” Wednesday. 
 
 “There was no conspiracy,” Kellar said. “There may have been some lack of appreciation for what went down in the gym because the principal wasn't there, there was no video available immediately and Miss Lovan's view was obstructed in the initial moments of the dog pile.” 
 
 Rowley painted a picture during the trial of a school obsessed with football, creating a culture where star players are looked on as gods and protected by administrators. Students testified to that. 
 
 When Carter turned in a starting player who he said was stealing from backpacks, and later stole Carter’s wallet while he was in the shower, Golla shined him off, he testified. Golla offered Carter $20 from his wallet as consolation and didn’t discipline the player, Carter said. 
 
 “He's not 'Mitch the snitch' anymore, or the kid in the chicken suit,” Rowley said Wednesday. “He's somebody who stood up for himself in our justice system and made the world a safer place.” 
 
 Carter said he hopes to someday attend law school so he can stand up for those who need their voices heard. 
 
 “I had a great man stand up for me when no one else would,” Carter said. “I’d love to do that and stand up for the kid who needs to be stood up for.” ||||| Photo Advertisement Continue reading the main story 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 The N.C.A.A. has reached a preliminary settlement in a class-action lawsuit brought by former college athletes to institute wide-ranging reforms to its head-injury policies. 
 
 The settlement is the latest attempt by the N.C.A.A. to address concerns over athletes’ rights. It brings a significant change in the care and safety of all current and former college athletes — male and female, in all sports and across each division — including a $70 million medical monitoring fund and a new national protocol for head injuries sustained by players during games and practices. 
 
 “This offers college athletes another level of protection, which is vitally important to their health,” Steve Berman, the lead plaintiffs’ lawyer, said. “Student-athletes — not just football players — have dropped out of school and suffered huge long-term symptoms because of brain injuries. Anything we can do to enhance concussion management is a very important day for student-athletes.” 
 
 The settlement does not provide financial compensation for injuries but allows for individual players to sue for damages. It was filed in federal court in the Northern District of Illinois on Tuesday morning, and it still requires the approval of Judge John Z. Lee. At least one plaintiffs’ lawyer involved in the case criticized the agreement and said he would urge the judge to reject the settlement. 
 
 Jay Edelson, who represents one of the plaintiffs, called the preliminary agreement terrible and said he conveyed his objections to Lee on Tuesday afternoon. He said the judge gave him 28 days to file a brief putting his concerns in writing. At that point, the judge can ask for more briefs or more testimony before issuing a preliminary ruling. 
 
 “It totally loses sight of the purpose of the case, which was to compensate people who were badly injured by concussions,” Edelson said. “It’s a great deal for the N.C.A.A., but very scary for the class.” 
 
 The proposed settlement would establish a medical monitoring fund similar in some ways to the one proposed recently by the N.F.L. and its players. It would give all former college athletes a chance to receive a neurological screening to examine brain functions and any signs of brain damage like chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease. 
 
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 Under the settlement, college athletes would preserve their rights to sue their universities or the N.C.A.A. for personal-injury financial damages, though Edelson worried that few would actually be able to bring such claims. 
 
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 “It’s going to be tough to find a lawyer to fight against the N.C.A.A.’s machinery when you’re talking about only $20,000 in damages,” Edelson said. “This is going to snuff out the vast majority of claims.” 
 
 He added: “Class members are allowed to fill out a questionnaire and then, based on a secret algorithm, they might be allowed to get a test to see if they have concussion-related symptoms. The vast majority of people already know that.” 
 
 The N.F.L.’s agreement, which is pending approval, seeks to create a fund worth several hundred million dollars to assist former players with treatment for the effects from their brain injuries. The N.C.A.A.’s settlement covers only diagnostic medical expenses. 
 
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 “There’s not a penny in it for the players,” said Ramogi Huma, the head of the National College Players Association. 
 
 Under the settlement, the N.C.A.A. would also prevent athletes who have sustained a concussion from returning to a game or practice that day. Trained medical personnel would be required at all contact sports events like football, lacrosse, basketball, soccer and wrestling. 
 
 “This agreement’s proactive measures will ensure student-athletes have access to high-quality medical care by physicians with experience in the diagnosis, treatment and management of concussions,” Brian Hainline, the chief medical officer of the N.C.A.A., said. 
 
 Huma countered that many of the guidelines were subject to the N.C.A.A.’s rule-making process. 
 
 “Even if they become official N.C.A.A. guidelines, they will be unenforceable,” he said. 
 
 While there are some 20,000 former N.F.L. players affected by the potential settlement with the league, there are close to four million former college athletes, 1.4 million of them in contact sports. Their experiences vary drastically, Berman said, making monetary damages difficult to address. 
 
 “It’s hard to create one class that includes swimmers and football players, given how different their athletic careers are,” said Berman, who added that the N.C.A.A., too, wanted only to discuss policy changes rather than financial rewards. “We felt individuals remain best off bringing individual suits, which they can still do.” 
 
 Several cases criticizing the N.C.A.A.’s handling of concussions began in 2011 when the former Eastern Illinois football player Adrian Arrington said the N.C.A.A. had been negligent in educating and protecting him after he sustained multiple concussions. Derek Owens, a wide receiver at Central Arkansas, soon brought his own suit, as did a female soccer player and a hockey player. A number of similar lawsuits were consolidated earlier this year. 
 
 According to N.C.A.A. documents uncovered during discovery, there were more than 30,000 concussions at colleges from 2004 to 2009. Describing the organization’s concussion policy, David Klossner, the N.C.A.A.’s director of health and safety, wrote in a 2010 email to a colleague: “Since we don’t currently require anything all steps are higher than ours.” 
 
 “A national policy is a very good thing,” said Matthew J. Mitten, the director of the National Sports Law Institute and the former chairman of an N.C.A.A. committee on safety. “We were only able to make simple recommendations, but now there is consensus among the athletic and medical community. The trick will be enforcing it at every school and not just at Ohio State and U.S.C.” 
 
 Settlement talks occurred during four meetings over the last year (three with the same judge who mediated the N.F.L.’s concussion settlement). Other terms of the agreement include $5 million for concussion research, to be funded by the N.C.A.A. and its member universities (the $70 million monitoring fund would be paid for by the N.C.A.A. and its insurers). Increased concussion tracking by universities and a preseason baseline test for every athlete would also be required. 
 
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 To qualify for a neurological exam, former athletes must complete a questionnaire designed by a team of neurologists and concussion experts. Should players qualify and need additional treatment, they can seek it through their own insurance or file a damages claim. 
 
 Owens and Arrington, for example, will continue their suits against the N.C.A.A. 
 
 “I don’t think there’s been much done in this regard before,” said Owens, who said he continues to have anxiety and depression after sustaining multiple concussions during college. “Not only for old washed-up guys like myself, but the current players and all the players who are going to come to school.” 
 
 Berman said he expected the $70 million would hold up for the life of the 50-year agreement because testing for C.T.E. and other brain diseases should become less expensive. The new diagnostic testing should also eliminate the need for future athletes to need postcareer screenings, he said. 
 
 “I’m cautiously optimistic,” said Dr. Jeffrey Kutcher, a neurologist at the University of Michigan. “It’s a good step; it’s a needed thing. But C.T.E. is very difficult to diagnose, and the medical monitoring is only as good as the quality of the evaluations these athletes receive.”
– A California man whose life was forever altered by donning a chicken suit for a high school pep rally has been awarded a lot more than chicken scratch in a lawsuit against Kern High School District. Mitch Carter was a 17-year-old student at Bakersfield High School in 2010 when he dressed up in the suit to mock the Golden Hawk mascot of arch-rival Golden West High School for an ill-fated skit, the Los Angeles Times reports. Students—including plenty of football players—piled on top of him, delivering kicks and punches in a beating that lawyers said left Carter with a traumatic brain injury. After a jury found the district liable for his injuries, it decided to settle with him for $10.5 million, most of which will be covered by insurance. Lawyers said Carter, once an honor roll student, has struggled with depression and poor grades in college since the beating. His future medical care costs will be more than $5 million, according to the lawyers. "I would trade everything just to have a full functioning brain," he said after the award was announced. The Bakersfield Californian recaps the wild trial that was brought to an end by the settlement. It included accusations of conspiracy and cover-up from Carter's lawyers, who brought in students to testify that the high school was obsessed with football and protected star players. During closing arguments, attorney Nicholas Rowley donned a chicken costume to make a point.