A Preventable Tragedy
A former strength and conditioning coach at Bucknell University now faces criminal charges after a freshman football player died following an intense conditioning session.
Calvin “CJ” Dickey Jr., a first‑year student‑athlete, collapsed during a July 2024 practice when he was asked to complete a series of punishing drills.
Mark Kulbis, who had served as the program’s head strength coach for six years, was aware that Dickey carried the sickle‑cell trait and had received explicit guidance on how to accommodate the condition.
According to the prosecution, Kulbis ordered the team to perform 100 “up‑downs” and full‑body plank exercises, a routine that quickly overwhelmed Dickey, who lost consciousness and was later pronounced dead two days after being hospitalized.
The legal fallout includes a $10,000 bail for Kulbis, a felony count of aggravated hazing, and misdemeanor charges of involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment and hazing. Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday has described the conduct as intentional and deliberate.
Dickey’s family has filed a civil lawsuit alleging that the university, Kulbis and other officials failed to implement established safeguards for athletes with sickle‑cell trait, a claim echoed by their attorney Michael Caspino, who stresses that proper conditioning protocols could have averted the death.
The case has reignited discussion about the NCAA’s requirement that incoming athletes be screened for sickle‑cell trait and the organization’s recommendation that coaches tailor workouts to scientific evidence rather than tradition.
Bucknell University has cooperated with the attorney general’s investigation and expressed condolences, while the former coach left the institution earlier this year.