Ex-Bucknell Coach Charged in Freshman's Hazing Death
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- Mark Kulbis was charged Monday with felony aggravated hazing plus misdemeanor counts of involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment, and hazing in the 2024 death of freshman football player Calvin "CJ" Dickey Jr.
- Calvin "CJ" Dickey Jr., 18, died July 12, 2024, two days after collapsing at a team workout from sickle cell-related rhabdomyolysis — a condition experts say is preventable by stopping exercise.
- Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday said Kulbis ran players through 100 up-downs and plank drills "in spite of training and direction from other coaches" that the exercises were unsafe, and did not summon help until Dickey passed out.
- Bucknell faces a 2025 wrongful-death suit from the Dickey family alleging the university knew about their son's sickle cell trait, cleared him to play, and failed to protect him.
- The NCAA mandates sickle cell trait testing for all athletes and notes that "incidents of sudden death in athletes with sickle cell trait have been exclusive to conditioning sessions."
Why it matters: Pennsylvania AG Dave Sunday's framing — that Kulbis knew about Dickey's sickle cell trait and was trained on NCAA anti-hazing standards before the workout — turns this from negligence into an alleged intentional act. For Bucknell, a criminal conviction would strengthen the family's pending wrongful-death suit and signal that individual coaches can be held criminally liable when institutional knowledge is disregarded.
