Alabama A&M football star Medrick Burnett Jr. dies in hospital... a day after team prematurely announced his passing

A coroner has officially confirmed the decease of Alabama A&M linebacker Medrick Burnett Jr., 4 weeks aft helium sustained a caput wounded successful a game.

The Jefferson County Coroner's Office pronounced Burnett, 20, dormant connected Wednesday.

His passing was prematurely announced earlier successful the week portion Burnett seemingly was inactive connected beingness enactment astatine UAB Hospital.

According to a GoFundMe page from his sister, Dominece James, Burnett was injured successful a head-to-head collision successful the Bulldogs' 27-19 nonaccomplishment against Alabama State successful the Magic City Classic astatine Birmingham connected October 26.

James said her member had terrible encephalon swelling and bleeding.

Burnett, a redshirt freshman from Lakewood, California had 5 tackles successful 7 games this play aft transferring from Grambling State.. 

Burnett's schoolhouse shared an update claiming helium had passed distant connected Tuesday evening that was aboriginal retracted.

'Today, our Bulldog household is heartbroken by the nonaccomplishment of Medrick Burnett Jr.,' Alabama A&M Director of Athletics Dr. Paul A. Bryant said via quality release.

'Medrick was much than an exceptional athlete; helium was a singular young antheral whose affirmative energy, leadership, and compassion near an indelible people connected everyone who knew him.

'While words cannot adequately explicit our grief, we are humbled by the spot of his family, who stood by his broadside passim this unimaginable ordeal.'

However, TMZ Sports later reported that, according to Burnett's family, the connection was mendacious and Burnett Jr. was inactive warring for his life.

'We retract the quality of the passing of Medrick Burnette Jr, that was primitively advised by an contiguous household subordinate connected Tuesday evening,' Alabama A&M was quoted arsenic saying successful a caller statement. 'Our unit acted accordingly to the wishes of the household subordinate to pass the A&M assemblage and beyond of this unfortunate occurrence.' 

After the bizarre mistake donations to the GoFundMe leafage surged with astir $48,000 present raised astatine the clip of writing. The household person acceptable a people of $100,000.

Posting connected the site, his sister Dominece wrote: 'His 20th day was October 27th and 1 of the worst birthdays for america due to the fact that helium was successful ICU and not doing well. He had respective encephalon bleeds and swelling of the brain. He had to person a conduit to drain to relieve the pressure, and aft 2 days of terrible pressure, we had to opt for a craniotomy, which was the past edifice to assistance effort to prevention his life.

'He needs and is going to request a batch of care, and each of his household unrecorded retired of authorities from wherever helium is located, and they besides request to beryllium capable to person lodging to beryllium determination to enactment and assistance him successful this journey. We bash not cognize what lies up yet, but we request each the prayers, support, resources, and donations to assistance him and his household support giving him a warring accidental to survive.

'The donations sent volition beryllium utilized for his parents to beryllium by his broadside owed to them surviving implicit 2000 miles distant from wherever helium is hospitalized. The wealth volition spell for them to person impermanent lodging 900 a week, infirmary fees (parking is $100 a week etc), and immoderate whitethorn originate during this agelong travel (rental car fees a week estimated$350 ), state to get magnitude etc). His ma (she has not been capable to enactment since this injuries occurred) volition person entree to the funds straight to instrumentality attraction of each the things that is needed during this time.

'Thank you for each your support, care, donations, prayers, resources, and much it is genuinely appreciated.'