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2021 Sports Medicine and the Law 1 (2021)

handle is hein.hackboth/sptsmdlw2021 and id is 1 raw text is: Spring 2021           Route To:  /  /
SPORTS MEDICINE

and the LAW

Onyshko Appeal Knocked Out by
Pennsylvania Superior Court

By Kristen E. Mericle, Esq., Dylan
F Henry, Esq., Kimberly L. Sachs,
Esq., and Kacie E. Kergides, Esq.,
of Montgomery McCracken
n January 8, 2021, a panel of three
judges from the Superior Court of
Pennsylvania denied an appeal by Matthew
Onyshko, former linebacker for California
University of Pennsylvania (Cal U). In
our Summer 2019 issue, we discussed the
2014 lawsuit alleging that the National
Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)
was negligent for failing to warn of the
long-term effects of repeated head injuries
from participating in football. This article
serves as an update on recent developments
in the case.

As a brief recap, Onyshko suffered
upwards of twenty concussions-three
of which resulted in lost consciousness-
while playing for the Cal U Vulcans from
1999-2003. Thereafter, Onyshko pro-
gressively suffered from frequent severe
headaches, numbness, twitching, muscle
atrophy, fatigue, loss of mobility, slurred
speech, difficulty swallowing, weakness
and other neurological symptoms.'
Onyshko was ultimately diagnosed with
1 Onyshko v. Nat'l Collegiate Athletic Ass'n, No.
1611 WDA 2019, 2021 WL73954, at *1 (Pa.
Super. Ct. Jan. 8, 2021).
See ONYSHKO! on Page 7

Engendering Debate: The Varying State of
Transgender Athlete Participation Policies

By Rachel L. Goodman, Esq., Dylan
F Henry, Kacie E. Kergides, Esq.,
and Kimberly L. Sachs, Esq. of Mont-
gomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads
LLP
ne Minnesotan powerlifter's lawsuit
shines a light on the inconsistent
treatment oftransgender athletes in sports.
On January 11, 2021, JayCee Cooper,
a 33-year-old transwoman sued USA
Powerlifting (USAP), the nation's largest
organization dedicated to competitive
squatting, bench pressing, and deadlifting.
USAP divides competitors according to
age, weight, and gender and matches them

up against other athletes who fit into the
same categories. Ms. Cooper alleges that
USAP violated the Minnesota Human
Rights Act by refusing to allow Cooper to
compete in its powerlifting competitions
because she is transgender.

Cooper was raised a biological male. As a
child, she participated in a variety of youth
sports until middle school, when Cooper
discovered that she excelled at curling and
pursued the sport at an elite national level
See THE VARYING on Page 4

Onyshko Appeal Knocked
Out by Pennsylvania
Superior Court
Engendering Debate:
The Varying State of
Transgender Athlete
Participation Policies
Cardiac MRI Shows Less
Myocarditis in Athletes
Recovered From COVID-1 9
Myocarditis among
recovering COVID-1 9
athletes less common than
previously reported.
Joint Statement About
Cardiac Screening
Important New Research
Shows Practice-Not Game
Play-Increases Exposure
to Concussion
After Career Change, Sachs
Finds Rewarding Path as
Attorney
Jogging Class Heat Stroke
Settlement Nearly $40 Million
Study - Lack of Heat
Policies Put Athletes at Risk

1

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