Jay-Z and his Roc Nation Sports 'being sued by former client and boxer over severe brain injuries suffered in the ring'
- Jay-Z and his company Roc Nation Sports are being sued by a former client and featherweight boxer who underwent career-ending brain surgery
- Daniel Franco, 25, claims he suffered the severe brain injuries after being scheduled three fights in just 79 days, two of which ended in knockout defeats
- In the suit, Franco accused RNS of negligence for failing to protect him by clearing him medically before his follow-up bout so soon after the first loss
- Franco had emergency brain surgery. Surgeons discovered two skull fractures and a brain bleed that 'likely occurred in the fights before his latest loss'
Jay-Z and his sports management company Roc Nation Sports are being sued by a former client and featherweight boxer who underwent career-ending brain surgery.
Daniel Franco, 25, claims he suffered the severe brain injuries after being scheduled three fights in just 79 days, two of which ended in tough technical knockout (TKO) losses, according to TMZ.
In the suit, Franco accused RNS of negligence for failing to protect him by clearing him medically before his follow-up bout so soon after the first loss.
Legal action: Jay-Z and his Roc nation Sports management company are being sued by a former client-boxer who suffered severe brain injuries in the ring according to TMZ
Franco first signed on with RNS back in 2015, and then proceeded to win his first five fights through November of 2016.
His alleged grievances began in March 2017, when he was scheduled to fight a light-hitting opponent. But, during training, he came down with a bad case of the flu that sidelined him for three weeks.
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Despite calls by his father to postpone the fight, Franco maintains Roc Nation pressured him to fight anyway, which ended in him losing badly by TKO in the third round.
Negligence? Daniel Franco, 25, claims he suffered severe brain injuries after being scheduled three fights in just 79 days, two of which ended in tough technical knockout (TKO) losses
Instead of taking time off to recover, Franco was booked to fight 50 days later, in May of 2017, against a fighter considered to be a walk-over.
Franco won the bout and was then put back into the ring just a month later in June, where was knocked down in the sixth and eighth rounds that resulted in his second loss.
'When we tried to get him on the stool, he couldn’t lift himself with his right leg,' his father said in a report by the Los Angeles Times.
'Then he started complaining about a headache, and his speech started slurring. I knew we needed to get him to the hospital. In the ambulance, he started convulsing.'
The claims: Franco and his father Al Franco accused RNS of negligence for failing to protect him by clearing him medically before his follow-up bout so soon after the first loss
That night Franco had emergency brain surgery where surgeons discovered two skull fractures and a brain bleed that 'likely occurred in the fights before his latest loss.'
Doctors removed a section of his skull and he spent two weeks in a coma.
Franco awoke from the coma with slow and slurred speech and is required to wear a protective helmet. Doctors fear he will never fully recover to his old self.
His father, Al Franco, said one doctor told him the injuries could have been detected before the third bout if a scan or MRI had been ordered for his son.
In Nevada and California, a fighter is required to undergo skull or brain imaging only once every five years, unless a doctor orders a special exam following a fight.
The history: Roc Nation was founded by Jay-Z in 2008; the sports management division was established in 2013 in a partnership with Creative Artists Agency
According to The Blast, Franco said Roc Nation initially offered to help pay his medical bills, but communication was cut off shortly after.
The Times report said Al Franco asked Roc Nation executives to use the company's powerful social media platforms to promote Daniel's GoFundMe campaign, which has raised more than $60,000, but he was rebuffed.
Franco still has nearly $200,000 in unpaid bills.
'I feel … like I’ve been left in the dust,' Franco said. 'They never valued me as a person. All I was was a product.'
Roc Nation was founded by Jay-Z in 2008; the sports management division was established in 2013 in a partnership with Creative Artists Agency.
The fallout: 'I feel … like I’ve been left in the dust,” Franco said. 'They never valued me as a person. All I was was a product'
