Do College Baseball Players Have Protections Against Career-Ending Injury?

By Frankie Wallace
Updated: August 14, 2020

You can’t ever know when an injury will occur, on or off the field. For college baseball players, this uncertainty comes with added risks and questions that their universities might not be willing or able to answer.

Since legal and university-level protections against career-ending injury are so ambiguous for players, athletes must take the initiative to ask questions about their futures in the event of an accident.

What happens if a student-athlete is injured? What legal protections do they have? Do we need laws that better protect student-athletes? All these questions and more deserve answers and exploration for the sake of the athletes who put their bodies at risk in collegiate baseball.

What Happens When a Student-Athlete is Injured?

To better protect themselves against the legal, educational, and medical challenges that occur with a career-ending injury, college baseball players must understand what happens after such an injury occurs. A career-ending injury can alter every aspect of life, down to the state of an athlete’s mental health.

When a student-athlete is injured, they can engage a series of legal, educational, and medical protections depending on their situation.

Legal Protections

While legal protections can vary among states, student-athletes have broadly similar but limited legal protections when it comes to career-ending injuries. The level of legal protection and financial restitution awarded for such an injury often depends on which party was at fault in obtaining the injury. In legal terms, this is referred to as the comparative negligence rule.

Various states may favor comparative negligence more or less depending on precedent and existing legislation providing legal rights to injured student-athletes. In the case of a comparative negligence ruling, athletes are entitled to recovery only so far as they are found by a court to be less than 51% at fault for the injury sustained. Determination of fault is found in much the same way as it is in the event of a car accident, with parties assigned a percentage rate based on factors that led up to the accident.

This means that if a student-athlete is found mostly responsible for their injury, courts will not award damages. However, if the student baseball player is less than 50% at fault, they can potentially win legal restitution in court, minus the percentage of the injury that was found by the court to have been the athlete’s own fault.

Outside of comparative negligence damages, there is little in the way of legal protections on a widespread or guaranteed basis. The NCAA is taking steps to prevent deaths and increase safety measures for college athletes, but the level of legal liability to which the NCAA or individual universities are accountable is a mixed bag due to the assumption of risk that participating in sports represents.

Educational Protections

Career-ending injuries for student baseball players at a college level often take their toll on education as well. Injured athletes run the risk of losing scholarships, and without those, their futures within higher education can be at stake.

That said, educational protection for student-athletes comes down to flexibility. Suppose a baseball player can manage the redirection of their trajectory, potentially finding other sources of funding for tuition rather than an athletic scholarship. In this case, they might be able to complete their degree. Student loans and Pell grant options exist for students whose families cannot afford tuition.

If an injury has ended a scholarship, it might be the perfect time to reassess educational goals. Perhaps a different school might provide a cheaper solution. Perhaps a shift to a vocational school will better suit the injured athlete’s future goals.

In any case, the athletic accomplishments and teamwork experience that any baseball player has acquired thus far can translate splendidly on a resume. The best protection for the future of their education and job prospects may be highlighting their achievements in athletics on their resumes. Baseball takes dedication, communication, and reliability, all skills any employer or scholarship fund would be interested in taking a look at.

Medical Protections

Sports and heavy exercise on young bodies comes with undeniable risk. Because of this risk, college baseball teams take significant care to maintain player health and safety. However, in the event of an injury, not much in the way of financial protection is guaranteed to student-athletes. The NCAA, for instance, does not guarantee healthcare coverage to its athletes.

This lack of coverage can put many in a predicament in the event of a severe injury, sometimes leading to tens of thousands of dollars in medical debt that neither the NCAA nor the student’s university is required to pay.

Because of this, student-athletes should always make a point of understanding their options when it comes to medical help. Many students will likely be eligible to be covered within their parent’s insurance plans. In some cases, student-athletes may even qualify for Medicaid, which differs from Medicare in that its coverage is based on income level rather than age.

The NCAA does provide catastrophic insurance for injuries exceeding $90,000 in cost. For much more common surgeries and care provisions that cost less than that, payment often falls to family insurance, where deductibles, premiums, and more must be met first. Without the proper coverage, a student-athlete may be at a loss to pay for immediate medical bills. This makes it even more difficult to find and finance the care they need for their long-term physical and mental health as they attempt to recover from a life-altering injury.

The risk of injury is always there in any sport. Health concerns are a factor in children’s baseball up to the major leagues. College athletes operate in a unique situation; however, in that significant revenue and attention are generated from the sport. At the same time, athletes may be less in a position to protect themselves from high medical costs. Preventing baseball injuries is typically the most players can do to protect themselves from career-ending accidents and the associated costs.

These limits of student-athlete protections across college divisions have some calling for change.

Do We Need Better Laws?

The proper response to the current situation in college baseball is uncertain. While some call for a change in laws and policies that will better cover student-athletes against injuries, others cite the risks inherent in competitive baseball. Potential legislation to better protect players could require that the NCAA and universities cover the healthcare costs of injured players, but it’s uncertain how much of the burden these institutions might take on.

In the meantime, proper training to prevent sports injuries is an absolute must. Biomechanics training to prevent injuries can help keep athletes in their prime from career-ending accidents, but should we be doing more? With such limited protections available for college athletes, better coverage in medical costs and care seems a logical — perhaps inevitable — step forward.