A former strength and conditioning coach at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania has been charged in connection with the death of a freshman football player who collapsed during a training session two years ago.
Mark Kulbis, who served as the team’s strength and conditioning coach, faces a felony count of aggravated hazing along with misdemeanor charges, including involuntary manslaughter.
According to prosecutors, Kulbis subjected 18-year-old player Calvin “CJ” Dickey Jr. to hazing rituals on the first day of practice, forcing him through punishing calisthenics despite being informed of Dickey’s sickle cell medical condition.
In a statement to the BBC, Kulbis’s attorney, Barbara Zemlock, acknowledged the tragedy of Dickey’s death but maintained that her client “did not contribute to it and is not responsible for it.”
“The strength and conditioning program that was implemented was appropriate and in accordance with the training that Mr. Kulbis received, and with applicable standards,” Zemlock said.
Dickey’s family released a statement expressing gratitude that criminal charges had been filed over what they described as CJ’s preventable death.
“This is a meaningful measure of criminal accountability,” the family noted.
The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office stated that Dickey, then a freshman in July 2024, was ordered to perform an “extreme workout” that posed a lethal risk given his sickle cell trait.
Prosecutors allege Kulbis compelled Dickey and other players to complete 100 “up-downs”—a strenuous conditioning drill—as well as full-body plank exercises, causing Dickey to exhibit visible physical distress.
