A high school football player in California died after collapsing during a game, the school district said in a statement.
Emmanuel Antwi, a senior at John F. Kennedy High School in Sacramento, was taken to the hospital after he fell during a game Friday night, NBC affiliate KCRA reported. After his collapse, the game was canceled and the stadium was cleared out, the station reported. He died the next day.
“We do not have many details to share beyond this,” the Sacramento City Unified School District said Saturday in a news release. “Our hearts go out to Emmanuel’s family and our school community during this difficult time. We ask all to give them privacy and time for healing and comfort as they grieve,” the district continued.
The California Interscholastic Federation’s Sac-Joaquin Section, which governs a portion of Northern San Joaquin Valley schools, expressed their condolences on Twitter Saturday.
“We’re heartbroken to hear of the passing of Kennedy High School football player Emmanuel Antwi. We are sending thoughts and prayers to his family, friends, teammates, and everybody at @SCUSDKennedy,” the district tweeted.
Football deaths directly related to what happened on the field are rare.
In the past decade, there have been 34 deaths related to on-field action — or an average of three people each season — among middle school and high school football players, according to data collected by the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research.
Most football deaths in the past decade were caused by complications from existing conditions, like heart ailments, or problems related to over-exertion, like heat stroke.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
