A six-month investigation indicates:

• Coaches and trainers were aware Plancher suffered from an inherited condition, sickle-cell trait, that can cause serious problems during high-intensity workouts. But they didn't appear to employ precautions.

• Plancher struggled severely at the end of the workout, and coaches and trainers were slow to respond.

• Coach George O'Leary and athletic department officials significantly understated the difficulty of the conditioning session in their public statements.

• The university did not begin interviewing players about the incident until more than a month after it happened; even then, some players with relevant information were never questioned.

James Jamison and Jevaughn Reams are the first players to go on the record about what took place that morning. Their stories -- which are corroborated by other players who requested anonymity -- undercut O'Leary's characterization of the workout as "not taxing," and also suggest coaches and trainers didn't respond to obvious signs Plancher was struggling.

"People who would normally be in front, never complaining about running, never getting tired, they were on the ground, cramping, throwing up and stuff," Jamison says. " 

Plancher collapsed.  Jamison and another teammate yelled to the trainers, but no one responded.  Jamison says O'Leary told the players to let Plancher try to get up on his own.

Asked how long the conditioning session lasted, Jamison estimated about 30-35 minutes.

Athletic Director Keith Tribble told the media it was a "basic conditioning" drill that lasted 10 minutes.

O'Leary described the session by saying, "It was not a taxing workout." 

Associate athletic director David Chambers said the workout actually lasted 20 minutes.  He said that Tribble had misspoken -- the 10-minute time frame was the "cool down period."

Jamison and other players were furious about the way O'Leary and Tribble described the workout.

"I've always been raised if you get in trouble, tell the truth. The truth is better than lies because you got to keep telling another lie, then another lie, then another lie, especially when it comes to somebody's life. And this guy did nothing wrong. He just died for no reason."

Shortly after Plancher's death, O'Leary told his players to avoid talking to the media about the incident.


George O'Leary is the same man who was fired from Notre Dame after he was caught lying on his resume.  Pardon me for not believing a word that comes out of his mouth.  Such despicable conduct for a man who is entrusted to instill values in his student-athletes.  Some people truly have no shame.

The attempts at spin-control and the outright lying by athletic department coaches and administrators is astonishing.  When universities hire incompetent, self-serving individuals into positions of leadership the students are the victims.