Alabama A&M Football's Medrick Burnett Jr. Dies After Suffering Head Injury in Game

Alabama A&M redshirt freshman linebacker Medrick Burnett Jr. has died at the age of 20.

The Jefferson County coroner issued a statement on Friday confirming Burnett's death due to a head injury he suffered in an Oct. 26 game against Alabama State, per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com).

The statement ended a series of confusing events about the situation.

Alabama A&M initially announced Burnett's death Wednesday morning. However, confusion arose after the school issued a retraction later that day, writing that Burnett remained alive and hospitalized with a head injury.

The school wrote that the initial news of Burnett's death came from "an immediate family member" on Tuesday night, and thus the announcement was made on Wednesday morning.

Alabama A&M's retraction read:

"Our staff acted accordingly to the wishes of the family member to inform the A&M community and beyond of this unfortunate occurrence. Upon hearing from a representative from UAB Hospital this afternoon, we learned that he remains alive.

"We express our immediate regret for disseminating false information. However, we hold complete joy in knowing that Medrick remains in stable condition."

Two days later on Friday, the Jefferson County coroner confirmed that Burnett was pronounced dead at 5:43 p.m. Wednesday at UAB Hospital.

WAFF 48 reported that Burnett suffered an injury in the Bulldogs' 27-19 loss to Alabama State on Oct. 26. His sister, Dominece James, set up a GoFundMe days after the initial injury that said he was in the ICU and had experienced "several brain bleeds and swelling of the brain."

Burnett made seven appearances for Alabama A&M this season and had five total tackles.

The Lakewood, California, native was is in his first full year with the program after having transferred in from Grambling State. He followed Cedric Thornton, who was Grambling State's defensive coordinator before returning to his alma mater and joining the Bulldogs' staff in the offseason.