The family of a Georgia high school basketball player who died following after school drill, Imani Bell, will receive a $10 million settlement.
According to CNN, Imani’s family will reportedly receive $10 million from the Clayton County Board of Education, which oversees Elite Scholars Academy in Atlanta. The amount will resolve a civil suit filed by them in 2021, their lawyers said in a statement on Nov. 29.
“Coaches now know they will be held accountable – and the school – if they don’t protect their kids from heat exhaustion,” lawyer L. Chris Stewart said at a news conference.
Co-counsel Justin Miller added, “This didn’t need to happen, and it never has to happen again.”
In 2019, 16-year-old Imani died from heat-related injuries following an afterschool basketball drill that took place outdoors at Elite Scholars Academy. She reportedly began showing signs of heat exhaustion as the training occurred amidst a heat advisory and 99-degree temperatures. However, she was told to continue doing drills with the rest of her team, including running the stadium steps. The temperature eventually climbed to about 103 degrees, but coaches insisted the players continue.
Imani then collapsed and was pronounced dead at a local hospital later that evening.
Coaches Larosa Maria Walker-Asekere and Dwight Broom Palmer were later charged with murder, and a wrongful death lawsuit revealed that the school approved intense basketball practice. The lawsuit alleged that coaches and administrators at Elite Scholars Academy failed to follow safety guidelines, including the school system’s heat index policy.
Their attorneys noted that the Georgia athlete’s family’s settlement didn’t include any admission of wrongdoing.
A portion of the money awarded to them will reportedly go to the Keep Imani Foundation–a foundation created to provide scholarships, eyeglasses for underprivileged teens, and cold tubs for student-athletes, Justin said.
“We will particularly focus on the next generation to instill key principles or acts that show you have the power to achieve anything you set your mind to!” the foundation’s official website indicates. “We plan to ‘Keep Imani’ through multiple acts of kindness, programs designed to assist young people, and passing on the positive nuggets she left with us daily!”
