LEXINGTON, Ky. – Former Kentucky, Louisville and Murray State football players have joined a group of class-action lawsuits against their conferences and the NCAA alleging “reckless disregard for the health and safety of generations” of athletes due to failure to properly address concussions sustained during their college careers.

Former UK wide receiver DeMoreo Ford (2005-09) filed suit against the Southeastern Conference and NCAA; former Louisville linebacker Willie Johnson (2003-05) filed suit against Conference USA, the Big East and the NCAA; and former Murray State fullback James Harrison (2000-05) filed suit against the Ohio Valley Conference and the NCAA.

Johnson’s lawsuit alleges each time he suffered a concussive or sub-concussive hit he remembers “shaking it off” and being put back in the game. Harrison recalls being “totally knocked out three or four times in games and practices.”

The cases are part of a wave of lawsuits filed in federal courts nationwide by Chicago law firm Edelson PC. The firm filed 15 similar lawsuits since May on behalf of other players. The lawsuits were filed in U.S District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. Other lawsuits were filed Wednesday on behalf of Former Florida State player Rodney Gallon and former Mississippi State player Henry Davison.

Spokesmen for UK and U of L each said their programs do not comment on pending litigation. A Murray State spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment.

“We’re filing another five to seven today and should be a few more in the next few days,” Edelson PC partner Christopher Dore said. “So this is just further coverage of all the different schools and all the different players that we have interacted with. So, nothing necessarily different, but it’s just demonstration that this is not a unique problem to just a small minority of schools.”

The lawsuits would establish each player as the representative of a class including varsity football players at their school from 1952 to 2010. If the lawsuit proceeded to the settlement stage other players from that period would be notified of the possibility of joining the class.

Ford alleges in the lawsuit he was told to return to play after multiple concussions during both games and practices. He specifically refers to a 2007 game against Florida in which he sustained a concussion during the second quarter and was returned to the game in the third quarter despite vomiting during the halftime break.

In Nov. 2008, UK coach Rich Brooks told reporters Ford had been advised by doctors to end his football career due to numerous concussions. According to the lawsuit, Ford now suffers from severe headaches, depression, mood swings and “other debilitating issues.”

Ford finished his UK career with 23 catches for 292 yards. He caught a 70-yard touchdown pass in UK’s 2006 Music City Bowl win over Clemson. Johnson totaled four tackles in four games as a redshirt freshman at Louisville in 2004.

None of the universities were named as defendants.

“That’s just more of a legal technicality issue,” Dore said. “Because it is a public university it is essentially part of the state, and the state has a certain amount of immunity from different type of lawsuits.”

Email Jon Hale at [email protected].