Medrick Burnett Jr. dies after false death notice

College football player Medrick Burnett Jr. He was confirmed to have died after being injured in a game last month. He was 20 years old.

The Alabama athlete was hospitalized after sustaining a serious injury during a game in October and succumbed to injuries sustained over a month later, according to multiple media reports Friday, Nov. 29.

Burnett Jr. was dragged from the field during a game on Oct. 26 after sustaining injuries in a head-on collision. The game came just one day before the linebacker’s 20th birthday.

The confirmation of Burnett Jr.’s death comes after his school, Alabama A&M University, mistakenly issued a statement prematurely announcing the athlete’s death while he was still alive.

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AAMU officials reported Burnett Jr.’s death in a news release on Wednesday, Nov. 27.

“Our Bulldog family is heartbroken by the loss of Medrick Burnett Jr., Alabama A&M athletics director Paul Bryant said of the now-deleted statement. “Medrick was more than an exceptional athlete; He was a remarkable young man whose positive energy, leadership and compassion left an indelible impression on everyone who knew him.

The statement continued: “While words cannot adequately express our grief, we are humbled by the strength of his family who stood by him throughout this unimaginable ordeal.”

The college was later forced to delete and retract the statement after the family confirmed that Burnett Jr. was still alive at the time. However, the student ultimately died later.

“We are retracting the news of the death of Medrick Burnett Jr., which was originally shared by an immediate family member on Tuesday evening,” AAMU officials said in a news release retracting the original announcement. “Our staff honored the family member’s wishes to inform the A&M community and beyond of this unfortunate incident.”

The statement continued: “Upon hearing from a UAB Hospital representative this afternoon, we learned that he is still alive. We express our immediate regret for spreading false information, but are very pleased that Medrick remains in stable condition.”

Burnett Jr.’s sister, Dominece Jamesdetailed the extent of the injuries sustained in a GoFundMe she organized to cover costs associated with trying to save his life.

“His 20th birthday was October 27th and one of the worst birthdays for us because he was in the ICU and not feeling well,” she wrote.

“He had multiple brain bleeds and brain swelling. He had to have a drain tube placed to relieve the pressure and after two days of heavy pressure we had to opt for a craniotomy, which was a last resort to try and save his life.”