The family of an Alabama A&M University football player who was hospitalized after being injured in the Magic City Classic remains in critical condition.
The news comes hours after the university announced on Wednesday that Medrick Burnett Jr., a linebacker, had died. The school has since removed the announcement from its website.
Burnett suffered the injury while defending an Alabama State kickoff return. While charging toward the Hornets’ returner, he gets lost among a pile of people, seemingly colliding with another player, causing the injury.
A crowdfunding effort was later set up to assist with medical expenses. Dominece James, Burnett’s sister and organizer of the GoFundMe effort, posted a message on Wednesday that read, “Please pray he is having a tough time, but we are holding on til the very end. God give us strength so we can keep the faith.”
“When the time comes, we will issue a statement about what we have been through,” Burnett Jr’s mother, Denise Burnett, told an Alabama TV station.