by Mary Kay Cabot, Plain Dealer Reporter , Plain Dealer

Former Browns receiver Joe Jurevicius, who returned to Cleveland in 2006 to try to help his beloved Browns win a Super Bowl, is suing the team, the Cleveland Clinic and two team physicians over a staph infection that most likely has ended his NFL career.

The suit, filed Friday in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, states that Jurevicius contracted a staph infection in his right knee because the Browns did not sterilize their Berea training facility properly and that the medical personnel, including the Clinic doctors, failed to warn him they weren't taking proper precautions.

Browns attorney Fred Nance told The Plain Dealer in a statement the Browns "deny the allegations and will vigorously defend against them." The Clinic, through spokesperson Erinne Dyer, declined to comment on pending litigation.

Jurevicius, who sat out all last season because of the staph infection, underwent routine arthroscopic surgery on the knee Jan. 7, 2008, and spent about a week and a half rehabilitating at the Browns' facility.

On Jan. 21, after experiencing swelling in the knee, severe shaking and chills, he was diagnosed with staph.

Since then, Jurevicius has undergone six medical procedures on the knee to eradicate the infection and repair the damage. The Browns released him March 12 even though he offered to take a pay cut to remain with the team. He's currently out of Football.

Jurevicius, 34 and a former Lake Catholic star, is the first of six known Browns players diagnosed with staph infections since 2003 to file a lawsuit. One of those, former Browns tight end Kellen Winslow, contracted staph twice, once in 2005 and once last season. Another, Cleveland native and St. Ignatius product LeCharles Bentley, has been out of Football since suffering his potentially limb- and life-threatening infection in 2006.

A source close to the situation said two other Browns staffers, not players, contracted staph within the past year.

Nance said in his statement: "The Browns are reviewing the allegations of the complaint. We are very comfortable that the practices and equipment at the Browns training facility are and have been fully compliant with all NFL requirements and sound customary practices for training facilities. In fact, an independent professional review earlier this year concluded that the Browns had taken appropriate steps to prevent MRSA infections at their facilities."

Jurevicius, in a statement issued by his attorney, Shannon Polk, said: "I wanted to play out my career for my hometown team. I hate that it all came down to this, especially over something preventable. But this problem goes beyond me - it touches every player who trusts what they are told about the care they are being offered. I can't tell you how much I appreciate all the support I've received from the fans over the past few years. It's really helped me through a difficult time in my life."

Polk said: "The Browns held their training facility out as a world-class place for care and treatment and extended it to their players and others like a hospital. Joe could've gone anywhere to rehab after his off-season surgery. He chose to accept care and treatment from the Browns' staff and the Cleveland Clinic physicians because he trusted and believed what he was told about the staph problem. It turns out he shouldn't have."

One of the defendants named in the suit, Dr. Anthony Miniaci, stepped aside as Browns head physician May 14 to concentrate on the Cleveland Clinic Sports Health Program. The other, Dr. Richard Figler, replaced Miniaci as the Browns' head physician. Both doctors oversaw Jurevicius' rehabilitation at the Browns' facility. He also underwent his first six procedures at the Clinic before a final clean-up in Alabama.

Another person closely involved with Jurevicius' rehab, trainer Marty Lauzon, resigned on June 5 for family and personal reasons. Lauzon is mentioned prominently in the suit, which says he assured Jurevicius that the five previous cases of staph were not contracted at the Browns' facility.

Furthermore, the lawsuit says Lauzon "explained-away" prior incidents of staph in his discussions with Jurevicius by blaming the infected players for their conduct while away from the Browns' facility. Winslow said he was told that his first staph infection occurred because was rubbing Vitamin E into the wound. During the second one, Winslow was warned in a series of text messages not to reveal he had staph, and former Browns General Manager Phil Savage first tried to pass it off as something Winslow wouldn't want made public. Savage later confirmed the staph.

A source said Jurevicius was told by the Browns he got the infection in a truck stop restroom on his way to Nebraska two weeks after the surgery, and Bentley was told his was from going out in public too soon after his surgery.

Besides Lauzon, the suit says Savage and former Browns coach Romeo Crennel assured Jurevicius that the facility was staph-free and that the players got it elsewhere.

On Dec. 18, Jurevicius vowed that he'd play Football in 2009, whether here or elsewhere. But the suit stressed that "as a result of the staph infection, Mr. Jurevicius may never be able to play professional Football again."

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: mcabot@plaind.com, 216-999-4670

BOX

The Jurevicius lawsuit

Who's named: The Cleveland Browns , the Cleveland Clinic, former Browns team physician Dr. Anthony Miniaci, current team physician Dr. Richard Figler.

What it claims: That negligence and fraud by the Browns and their physicians led to Jurevicius contracting a staph infection that might have ended his playing career. That they failed to warn Jurevicius that sterile techniques were not used at all times at the team's training facility in Berea.

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