Amos is a scholarship athlete who is the star wide receiver at Big U, a private university with an outstanding football program team. The week before the game with Large U, Big U's hated rival, Amos suffered a very painful neck injury that prevented him from practicing. Although Big U's team physician recommended that Amos not play, Big U's coach pressured Amos to play because the Large U game would decide the conference championship. Amos suffered a broken neck, causing permanent paralysis, when he was injured during the game in a vicious helmet-to-helmet tackle by Brutus, a Large U defensive back, who was penalized 15 yards for "spearing." Is Big U liable for Amos's permanent neck injury and paralysis? Is Large U liable?

In my opinion, I would rule out any potential criminal liability to either Big U or Large U for the permanent injury to Amos. Neither the head coach or Brutus had the criminal intent to injure Amos even though an argument could be made the coach made a reckless decision to pressure him into playing against doctors' orders. Brutus' tackle was penalized and reckless, but lacks any criminal intent in my opinion since football by nature is a violent sport at times.

However, there may be a series of civil liability or wrongdoing by Big U and the coach in this scenario. He is in a position of great influence and authority over the players and used that power and influence to coerce Amos into playing even though he should have sat out as per doctors' orders. As an employee of Big U, the coach and Big U would likely both be liable for damages in this matter and their actions were certainly a proximate cause of Amos' serious injuries. I do not think Large U would be liable for anything. Perhaps the school would suspend Brutus for the illegal tackle or other internal measures.

Step-by-step explanation

I based my answer on my personal experience as a police officer and also a football coach. From a police officer's perspective, I feel there are absolutely no criminal elements in this scenario by any party, but as I mentioned in my answer, there are clear civil and administrative liabilities involved.