University In Alabama Erroneously Announces Football Player's Death

"We express our immediate regret for disseminating false information," Alabama A&M University's athletics department said.

Alabama A&M University on Wednesday apologized for mistakenly announcing the death of its football player Medrick Burnett Jr., who was hospitalized after suffering a head injury in a game last month.

In a since-deleted statement posted online this week, the school’s athletics department had said that the 20-year-old was dead, according to multiple media reports. The athletics director, Paul A. Bryant, reportedly said the community was “heartbroken by the loss.”

Alabama A&M Athletics later said that the announcement was a mistake.

“We retract the news of the passing of Medrick Burnette Jr, that was originally advised by an immediate family member on Tuesday evening,” read a Wednesday statement from Alabama A&M Athletics. “Our staff acted accordingly to the wishes of the family member to inform the A&M community and beyond of this unfortunate occurrence.”

The school said it had learned from a hospital representative that Burnett “remains alive.”