Lawrence Tynes sues Buccaneers over MRSA infection

Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicker Lawrence Tynes is suing the team over contracting MRSA that ended his career.

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Former Bucs kicker Lawrence Tynes is suing the team over what he called unsanitary conditions that led to him contracting MRSA and putting an end to his career. Tynes said that the team facility was continuously unsanitary and the Bucs actively hid evidence of others contracting the infection. He’s asking for $20 million in future earnings, according to a story by ESPN.

Tynes was originally signed by the team in 2013, but never got a chance to kick for them. He was diagnosed with MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, at the start of training camp that year. The lawsuit alleges that the Bucs did not disclose the MRSA infections while they were going on and they also actively concealed the ongoing incidents of infection in people who had used and visited the facility. The lawsuit also alleges that the Bucs failed to keep their equipment and surfaces unclean and did not employ proper sterilization techniques.

The Bucs would not comment on the allegations as it is their policy not to comment on ongoing litigation. Tynes also told ESPN that he went eight or nine days without being diagnosed and the infection gradually got worse. He finally was forced to go see an outside doctor. Upon seeing the doctor, he was immediately told that he had MRSA. By Tyne’s telling, the doctor didn’t even examine him or take any tests, simply looked at his toe and said he had MRSA.

“I’m at a billion-dollar company with the supposed best doctors in the world, and not one of them told me that I had that? I know they knew I had it. They just didn’t want me to have it,” Tynes said of the Bucs doctors.

Tynes said the toe was nearly amputated because of the infection, but as it was, he had to have three surgeries and a peripherally inserted central line above his heart for six weeks of antibiotic therapy. Tynes said he’s been approached by some NFL teams since his recovery, but he knows he can’t play because of the continued pain in his toe.

One of Tynes’ eight lawyers says he believes that the kicker could have played another seven years if he had not contracted MRSA. Tyne was 35 upon contracting the infection, so that would have put him at 42. Not entirely unlikely for a kicker.

Bucs guard Carl Nicks and cornerback Johnathan Banks also contracted MRSA around the same time frame. Nicks has also not played since, while Banks did not miss any playing time.

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