The family of a
North Carolina Central University basketball player who died in 2023 is suing
the university.
Devin
Butts died on May 5, 2023, at Duke University Hospital at the age of 22.
The Georgia native was just weeks shy of his expected graduation with a
bachelor’s degree in behavioral and social sciences.
Butts’ family
field a wrongful death case last month in Durham
County Court.
North Carolina
lawyers Jason Burton and Walter Burton filed the lawsuit on May 2, 2025, on
behalf of the deceased Butts and Jaylan Sandifer against North Carolina Central
University.
The lawsuit
states Sandifer is a personal representative of Butts. An obituary states
Sandifer and Butts were family members.
The suit asks
for at least $25,000 from the university.
In a
statement, a North Carolina Central University spokesman said the
university is aware of the lawsuit, writing, “As a matter of policy, the
university does not comment on pending legal proceedings.”
The lawsuit
claims Butts and three North Carolina Central University teammates entered the
side door of McDougald-McLendon Arena to participate in voluntary workouts on
April 30, 2023. The suit claims Butts and his teammates participated in
shooting drills and one-on-one drills to simulate live game activities. The
suit said the workout was not supervised by a member of the coaching staff,
training staff or athletic department.
Around 12:30
a.m. on May 1, Butts developed cardiac arrythmia and suffered a sudden cardiac
event, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit
states Butts fell to the gym floor and lost consciousness. It also claims no
automated external defibrillators [AEDs] were on or near the basketball court.
The suit said the one AED in the McDougald-McLendon Arena at the time was
inside an athletic training room in a different part of the building that was
inaccessible to Butts’ teammates.
The suit states
Butts’ teammates called 911 at 12:35 a.m. on May 1. Durham County EMS arrived
at the arena at 12:48 a.m.
The lawsuit
claims Butts had oxygen deprivation for about 18 minutes before first
responders arrived.
“First
responders were able to restore Devin’s heartbeat, but he sustained an anoxic
brain injury because of oxygen deprivation,” the suit states.
Authorities
took Butts to the Duke University Medical Central for emergency medical
treatment, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit said Butts was put on life
support, but he was unable to regain brain function in the days after the
incident.
Butts’ death
certificate said he died of a heart issue.
According to the lawsuit, North Carolina Central University basketball players were “permitted and encouraged” between March 2023 and April 2023 to gain after-hours access to McDougald-McLendon Arena to participate in “voluntary” conditioning despite NCAA restrictions on postseason participation.
The lawsuit
lists former North Carolina Central University Chancellor Johnson Akinleye,
Athletic Director Dr. Louis “Skip” Perkins, basketball coach Levelle Moton,
facilities and operations manager George Smith and North Carolina Central
University Police Chief Damon Williams.
“NCCU failed to
provide a reasonably safe environment for student athletes to participate in
intercollegiate athletics,” the lawsuit states. “NCCU failed to exercise
reasonable care to protect student athletes from and/or mitigate the risks and
potential consequences of [a] SCE [sudden cardiac event] and SCA [sudden
cardiac arrest] in student athletes.”
The lawsuit claims Perkins, Moton and Smith “routinely disregarded NCCU policies and procedures that restricted access to athletic facilities by student-athletes and allowed student-athletes to enter the building outside of normal working hours to participate in unsupervised athletically related activities.”
The suit also claims Perkins, Smith and North Carolina Central
University Police and campus security “failed to appropriately monitor access-control
systems” and “failed to enforce policies and procedures restricting access to
athletic facilities.”
Another claim made in the lawsuit is that Perkins and Moton “knowingly violated NCAA limitations on participation in athletically related activities by requiring, encouraging or consciously allowing NCCU student athletes to access athletic facilities and engage in unsupervised ‘voluntary’ workouts.”
Also, the suit claimed that the university failed to train
coaches, staff, trainers and athletic department personnel on the use of AEDs.
In 2023, Moton called Butts an incredible teammate with
an infectious smile.
“We are
deeply saddened by the unexpected passing of Devin,” Moton said in
May 2023. “This is a devastating tragedy for our team, fans and the entire
NCCU community.
“Devin
will always be remembered as an incredible teammate that had an infectious
smile at all times. Our heartfelt condolences are with his family and those who
were blessed to know him.”
Butts
averaged 5.4 points in 17 appearances in the 2022-23 season for the
Eagles. It included a 15-point performance on five made 3-pointers in the
team’s MEAC Championship quarterfinals victory over Delaware State on March 8,
2023.
