Former Washington football RB Emeka Megwa sues school for medical negligence

Former Washington football running back Emeka Megwa has filed a lawsuit against the University of Washington and its athletics staff for medical negligence.

Megwa played for Washington from 2021-2022 under both Jimmy Lake and Kalen DeBoer but did not see any action.

The lawsuit states that the UW Athletics medical team essentially caused a second torn ACL after ignoring Megwa's claims of ongoing pain from his first injury. It also says that the football staff forced him to return to practice before he was ready or even medically cleared to return.

Former Washington football RB Emeka Megwa sues school for medical negligence

His lawyer told The Seattle Times (who first reported this story) that Megwa "felt he was well taken care of and valued with the Jimmy Lake crew and there was a real change in attitude toward him with the new coaching staff. They didn’t know him. They didn’t recruit him. And they may not have known as well what his medical history was, but either way, it’s inexcusable what they put him through."

According to the lawsuit, Megwa's knee was checked in January 2022 after reports of knee pain but the ligaments were found to still be intact and he was given painkillers for relief. He reportedly was yelled at by the staff for not participating in drills. Eventually, he was told to enter the transfer portal when his knee deteriorated and the second torn ACL was found in March 2022.

Megwa eventually did leave the program and ended up a walk-on at Oklahoma and played in two games last season.