The mother of Northwestern football player Rashidi Wheeler, who died of an asthma attack during an Aug. 3 conditioning drill, told the Chicago Sun-Times on Monday that the university is trying to deflect blame by attacking her son's credibility.

Linda Will questions the origin of reports that Wheeler suffered 30 asthma attacks while at NU, suggesting he wasn't managing his problem properly, and that he had taken NCAA-banned supplements.

Will also is concerned by reports that an autopsy showed Wheeler had no trace of albuterol, an asthma medicine found in inhalers, in his blood. Because it is common for asthmatics to take a shot of medicine before exercising, Will said the inference is that Wheeler lacked responsibility in dealing with his disease.

"(Northwestern) should be figuring out what changes to make instead of trying to assign blame to someone who is not here to defend himself," said Will, who filed suit against the school and its athletic staff last week.

While the school is conducting an investigation into Wheeler's death, Will says she has no faith in what that report will show.

"I'm calling for an independent outside investigation," she told the Sun-Times. "I have to separate things here. I still see Northwestern as a wonderful school, but the athletic department? I have to question everything coming from them. I do not trust the integrity of an in-house investigation."

Will disputes that Wheeler had 30 asthma attacks as a player at NU. And if there were that many attacks, she asked the newspaper, why didn't someone from NU call her? Will called the supplement story another smoke screen. She cited Cook County medical examiner Edmond Donoghue's findings that the stimulant ephedrine was in Wheeler's system but did not contribute to his death. In fact, Donoghue told the Sun-Times that if anything, ephedrine -- formerly an asthma medicine -- would have helped clear Wheeler's airways.

As for the lack of albuterol in Wheeler's body, Will told the newspaper: "I just want to get out the message to the public that it is not surprising how low the level of albuterol was in his system. Albuterol is not used as a regular, daily treatment.

"I've always been conscientious in my son's approach to the treatment of asthma. In fact, in his sophomore year, he didn't pass the drill, and I took him to a specialist. Treatments are always getting better and better. So we changed his medication, and it was working. The problem was that it wasn't working that day. He made that loud and clear with his pleas for help. And his pleas were ignored."

Will declined to say what other medication Wheeler was using, but she said he took it daily. She said Wheeler used albuterol only in emergencies.

Sally Wenzel of the National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver, a top asthma treatment center, told the Sun-Times that the best asthma treatment is daily doses of cortico-steroids. She said pre-treatment is suggested, with a shot of albuterol minutes before exercising, then more albuterol as needed for emergencies. Donoghue said Wheeler's body was not tested for corticosteroids during the autopsy because it was thought the sum of his treatment was albuterol.

Will thinks NU is trying to deflect criticism. She believes the school was running a practice that violated NCAA rules requiring summer workouts to be voluntary; her son dropped during the drill and told people he was dying; the emergency phone on the field wasn't working, causing delay until a cell phone was found.

Meanwhile, Will claims, NU trainer Tory Aggeler -- not realizing the severity of Wheeler's trouble -- left him with an intern trainer. Thinking Wheeler was hyperventilating rather than suffering an asthma attack, NU personnel reportedly had Wheeler breathe into a bag, which further stopped him from getting oxygen.