Donations pour in for hospitalized college football star Medrick Burnett Jr. after school wrongly announced his death
The donations for hospitalized college football player Medrick Burnett Jr. have soared after Alabama A&M falsely announced his death.
Burnett’s school shared an update claiming he passed away on Tuesday night at the age of 20, a month after suffering complications from a head injury during a match.
“Today, our Bulldog family is heartbroken by the loss of Medrick Burnett Jr.,” said Dr. Paul A. Bryant, director of athletics at Alabama A&M, via a news release.
“Medrick was more than an exceptional athlete; he was a remarkable young man whose positive energy, leadership and compassion left an indelible impression on all who knew him.
“While words cannot adequately express our grief, we are humbled by the strength of his family, who stood by his side during this unimaginable ordeal.”
However, TMZ Sports has since reported that the statement, according to Burnett’s family, was false and that Burnett Jr. still fighting for his life.
The school of college football player Medrick Burnett Jr. announced on Tuesday that he had died
His relatives reportedly told local media that he had not died, before the school quickly deleted the article announcing the player’s death.
“We retract the news of the death of Medrick Burnette Jr., which was originally communicated by an immediate family member Tuesday evening,” Alabama A&M said in a new statement. “Our staff acted in accordance with the family member’s wishes to inform the A&M community and beyond of this unfortunate event.”
Despite the bizarre error, donations to a GoFundMe page established in Burnett’s honor have since skyrocketed with $41,471 now raised at the time of writing. The family has set a goal of $100,000.
His sister Dominece wrote on the site: ‘His twentieth birthday was October 27th and one of the worst birthdays for us because he was in intensive care and not doing well. He had several cerebral hemorrhages and swelling of the brain. He had to have a tube drained to relieve the pressure, and after 2 days of heavy pressure we had to opt for a craniotomy, which was the last resort to save his life.
“He needs and will continue to need a lot of care, and all of his family lives outside the state he is in, and they also need to be able to have housing to support and help him on this journey. We don’t know yet what lies ahead, but we need all the prayers, support, resources and donations to help him and his family give him a chance to survive.
“The donations sent will be used so his parents can be by his side as they live more than 2,000 miles away from where he is in the hospital. The money goes to temporary housing at $900 per week, hospital costs (parking costs $100 per week, etc.), and whatever may happen during this long trip (rental car costs per week estimated at $350), gas to get the amount etc.). His mother (she has not been able to work since these injuries occurred) will have direct access to the money to take care of all the things needed during this time.
But the Alabama A&M star, who suffered complications from a head injury during a game last month, is still alive and fighting for his life in the hospital.
“Thank you for all your support, care, donations, prayers, resources and more, it is truly appreciated.”
Burnett is in his first season with the Bulldogs as a freshman after spending 2023 at fellow HBCU Grambling State.
He reportedly suffered a head injury while defending a kickoff in the Magic City Classic, an annual rivalry game against Alabama State on Oct. 26, colliding with an opponent.
Burnett was born in Lakewood, California and attended Mayfair High School.