Former Professional Boxer Sues Jay-Z’s Roc Nation Sports Over Brain Injuries

Daniel Franco is suing his former agency, Roc Nation Sports and its co-founder Jay-Z, over claims that he was forced to fight three times despite reports of illness and brain injury.

According to TMZ, Franco signed with the agency in 2015, but his problems with Roc Nation Sports started in March 2017, after being scheduled for three fights only 79 days apart. 

Apparently, the 27-year-old missed three weeks of training for a big fight after coming down with the flu. When he asked to postpone the match, Roc Nation reportedly pressured him into fighting anyway. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Franco lost after the 3rd round of his March 23 fight and wanted time to recover, but instead was booked for two more fights, one in May and one in June. 

Franco believes that no one took the proper steps to ensure his safety or provided testing to check if he was medically fit. In the court documents, Franco claims Roc Nation acted recklessly and didn’t pay attention to the fact he had suffered two skull fractures and a brain hemorrhage prior to his career-ending fight on June 10. 

In fact, the boxer lost his last fight to Jose Haro via knockout and suffered major damage in the process, including a brain hemorrhage that led to a two-week coma. As a result, Franco had to have a piece of his skull removed to stop the bleeding. The now-retired boxer claims to have severe cognitive and neurological issues in addition to being required to wear a helmet to prevent brain injury. 

Franco is seeking “unspecified damages” and wants Roc Nation Sports to be held accountable for failing to protect him. 

Roc Nation Sports has yet to comment.