ARAPAHO — Custer County District Judge Jill Weedon dismissed a negligence case against three Southwestern Oklahoma State University football coaches and former coaches who were named in the suit against the university.
SWOSU President Dr. Randy Beutler, Jared Jackson, Julian Washington and Chet Pobolish were named in the lawsuit as defendants and summoned.
Judge Weedon dismissed the case against Jackson, Washington and Pobolish, after the attorney for plaintiffs Skye and Yolanda Singleton said, “I believe we miss-served.”
SWOSU’s attorney, Charles A. Dickson III, asked for a motion to dismiss the case against Jackson, Washington and Pobolish because the allegations were outside of the scope of their employment. Judge Weedon granted the dismissal three coaches from the lawsuit.
However, the case is still open against SWOSU and if a re-serving isn’t made by December 1 the case will be dismissed. Attorneys for the Singletons will need to re-serve SWOSU.
A negligence lawsuit was filed December 9 against the university following an incident in February 2018 where a football player, Skye Singleton, suffered irreparable brain damage, according to the lawsuit filed with the Custer County District Court.
The petition was filed by plaintiffs Skye Singleton and Yolanda Singleton. Skye was a member of the 2018 SWOSU football team. Yolanda is listed as Skye’s “next friend” in the petition. Pobolish, Jackson and Washington were all three football coaches at the time of the incident.
According to the lawsuit, Skye became ill with cold and flu-like symptoms in February 2018 as a result of the “loss of heat” in his dormitory. Despite his alleged illness, Skye was made to participate in a team workout session.
Skye reported to the SWOSU Wellness Center for the team workout where he experienced cardiac distress and lost consciousness. According to the petition, the Wellness Center was either not equipped with a portable defibrillator (AED) or it was not used on Skye. In addition, SWOSU coaches and staff allegedly failed to perform CPR on Skye.
When the ambulance arrived on scene, Skye was given medical care, but, by that time the loss of oxygen had already caused “irreparable brain damage” to Skye’s brain, according to the petition.
Following initial medical care, Skye was taken to a medical facility in Oklahoma City. He is is reported to be in a long-term care facility near his home in Texas. The petition said Skye’s brain injury is “catastrophic and permanent” due to the lack of oxygen. He is unable to live independently and will require “around-the-clock care” for the rest of his life, according to the petition.
At the time of the incident, Pobolish was the head coach for the SWOSU football team. Jackson was the strength and conditioning coach and was responsible for organizing weight lifting and training activities. Washington was the defensive backs coach. Skye was a defensive back for the SWOSU football team, and Washington, as was Jackson and Pobolish, who plaintiffs claim failed to provide emergency medical care to Skye.
In the petition, the university was accused of negligence due to its alleged failure to provide its football coaching staff with the proper emergency training and failure to provide an AED to be used by the coaching staff. Pobolish, Jackson and Washington are accused of negligence due to their alleged failure to provide CPR to Skye. The university also is accused of negligent hiring, training and retention of the three coaches. The Singletons filed the petition, requesting a trial by jury.