NCAA Faces Trial in Suit by Ex-Football Player Stricken With ALS

The NCAA faces hundreds of federal concussion lawsuits brought by former collegiate football players. But it faces a more immediate challenge this week: a suit by a 38-year-old man stricken with Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

Matthew Onyshko’s suit alleges his progressive neurological disease, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, stems from his five-year football career at California University of Pennsylvania, in California, Pa., from 1999-2003.

Onyshko’s case is slated to be the first to go to trial on a theory that his ALS was caused by his collegiate football play. Jury selection is set to begin April 24.

The National Collegiate ...