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Youth football on trial Paul Bright Jr., suited up as a member of the Sparks, Nevada, Steelers, and his sister Tiffani Bright. Sunday Dec 31, 2017 at 12:01 AM By Mike Oxendine Mail Tribune The mother of a former North Medford High School cheerleader is suing Pop Warner in an attempt to hold the youth football organizer liable for brain injuries she claims led to the tragic death of her son. Kimberly Archie, whose son, Paul Bright Jr., died at age 24 in a motorcycle accident after playing youth football for eight years, filed the lawsuit along with another mom, Jo Cornell, whose son Tyler committed suicide at age 25 after playing in Pop Warner from 1997 through 2002. Autopsies discovered chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease associated with the head trauma experienced in football, in the brains of both young men after their deaths in 2014. U.S. District Judge Philip S. Gutierrez ruled in October to grant a trial in federal court against the world’s largest youth tackle football program, based on negligence and fraud claims on the grounds the 88-year-old nonprofit group misrepresented its safety protocols. In legal papers seeking to dismiss the case, Pop Warner argued that there is an “inherent risk to the sport.” “Players at all levels and their parents are aware that head contact is a common risk in contact sport, thus their decision to participate and continue playing constitutes an assumption of the risk,” it said. Pop Warner has stated such injuries are a standard risk when kids play football, Gutierrez acknowledged in his decision. But the judge rejected a motion by the company to toss the suit, agreeing with the moms’ charge that Pop Warner “misrepresented that safety was its top priority,” and that it had "coaches trained in head injuries, equipment that afforded the best protection, and rules and procedures designed to protect children from injury — all with the knowledge that none of this was true," according to the judge's decision. “The court concludes it is plausible that as alleged, plaintiffs’ repeated head injuries sustained playing youth tackle football resulted in brain injury and CTE, and are thus traceable to acts of omission by Pop Warner,” Gutierrez wrote in his 25-page decision. Archie said her reaction to the judge’s decision was “extreme relief.” “Being an expert witness on behalf of child athletes for almost 10 years, it certainly would’ve been difficult to fight for other kids and not have the opportunity to fight for my son and kids like him,” she said. Archie is seeking a jury trial, she said, adding, “Everyday people might not know what CTE is, but they know what brain damage is. Brain damage is bad and causes people to do bad things. I don’t think it’s that complicated.” Archie is also pushing for increased federal regulation of youth tackle football. She supports the creation of an organization such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to oversee amateur sports — including equipment manufacturing guidelines, coaching standards of care and age limits — instead of entities such as the United States Olympic Committee, which Archie says are motivated by "sports’ best interests, not athletes.” “We need to arm parents with the truth so they can make real decisions,” she said. “Parents are being lied to and they need to know the truth. “If a mom or even a dad knows that their son is being exposed to brain damage — and at least they’re going to diminish their God-given mental capacity and at worst CTE — why would a parent sign their kid up for that? It makes no sense." — Reach reporter Mike Oxendine at 541-776-4499 or [email protected].