22 lives claimed: A visual timeline from 2000 to 2018

Tennessee Tech football player Preston Birdsong died Aug. 13, 2000, after collapsing during a testing session. Attempts to resuscitate Birdsong were made on the field by Tech trainer David Green, emergency personnel and a physician, according to a statement from the school's athletic department. Birdsong, an 18-year-old defensive back, was pronounced dead at Cookeville Regional Medical Center. (AP Photo/The Herald-Citizen)

Tennessee Tech University
Age: 18
Date of death: Aug. 13, 2000

The 5-foot-11, 190-pound Birdsong was reportedly in good shape when he collapsed while running sprints on the first day of preseason workouts. The freshman defensive back’s death was originally attributed to heatstroke, but was later connected to sickle cell trait. University spokesperson Monica Greppin said at the time that the practice “was a pretty light workout.”

Florida State University
Age: 18
Date of death: Feb. 26, 2001

The 6-foot-2, 220-pound Darling collapsed after a 75-minute continuous conditioning workout known as “mat drills,” designed to push players to their limits over 10 consecutive days during offseason training. The sophomore linebacker complained to his teammates but not to coaches of pain in his chest and depleted vision. Coaches made him finish the drills. After collapsing, Darling was rushed to the hospital, where he died. An autopsy revealed Darling carried the sickle cell trait. His parents filed a lawsuit against Florida State alleging coaches and trainers were responsible for the death, which was settled for $2 million. Florida’s sovereign immunity law caps settlements from state institutions at $200,000 unless the state legislature approves a higher amount via a claims bill, so the family did not see the remaining $1.8 million until state legislation passed in 2017. Darling’s twin brother and teammate Devard, who also tested positive for the trait, claimed he was kicked off the team for being a liability. He transferred to play at Washington State University. After Darling’s death, Florida State continued the mat drills with far more precautions, including more rest time, water coolers and an ambulance on standby.

Devaughn Darling (Photo courtesy of As One Foundation)

Eraste Autin (Photo courtesy of University of Florida)

University of Florida
Age: 18
Date of death: July 25, 2001

Autin was participating in a voluntary summer workout on July 19, 2001, which included 50 minutes of stretching, sprints and agility drills. The freshman fullback looked disoriented while returning to the locker room, so a bystander got him to stop and lie down outside the stadium. He was taken to the hospital and six days later, Autin died from complications related to heatstroke. Autin’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the University of Florida Athletic Association and received an undisclosed settlement.

Northwestern University
Age: 22
Date of death: Aug. 3, 2001

The senior safety was going through a preseason conditioning test when he struggled to breathe during a set of wind sprints. At least three other players collapsed during the drill. Coaches and paramedics performed CPR on Wheeler, who was athsmatic, before he had to be taken to the hospital, where he died later that day. The medical examiner ruled the death from exercise-induced bronchial asthma.

In the days after Wheeler’s death, head coach Randy Walker said, “I have no doubt a better-conditioned athlete is a whole lot more likely to survive the game of football. I didn’t write the rules. But it is a rigorous sport.” Wheeler’s mother filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Northwestern, which was settled for $16 million.

Rashidi Wheeler, shown in this April 2001 photo, a starting safety on the Northwestern team that tied for the Big Ten championship last season, collapsed August 3, 2001 in Evanston, Il. during preseason conditioning drills and died shortly afterward. (AP Photo/Stephen J. Carrera)

Northern Illinois University
Age: 19
Date of death: Feb. 1, 2002

Jackson, a freshman attempting to walk on the team, collapsed on his second day of conditioning drills. Jackson showed no sign of struggle through most of the workout, until about halfway through wind sprints. Results of an autopsy were inconclusive, but noted that Jackson had an enlarged heart. Jackson was a football and track team captain in high school.

NCAA implements several rules governing preseason practice time, including restrictions on two-a-day practices and limits on the number of daily practice hours. The NCAA also mandates a mandatory five-day “acclimatization” period to allow players to ease into workouts as football practice resumes after the offseason.

NCAA implements bylaw empowering sports medicine staff with the “unchallengeable authority to cancel or modify the workout for health and safety reasons” during voluntary conditioning activities conducted by a strength coach.

Chris Waddell (Photo courtesy of Northwestern State University)

Northwestern State University
Age: 19
Date of death: March 1, 2004

Waddell joined the Northwestern State team as a walk-on and was participating in his first spring conditioning workout with the team when he suddenly collapsed. Athletic trainers tended to Waddell, attempting to resuscitate him, but he was pronounced dead at the hospital. The coroner specified the official cause of death as a heart attack, related to a heart condition Waddell was diagnosed with when he was a child. His mother said her son had received treatment for the condition and was medically cleared for all activities. Waddell passed a medical exam in August 2003 and was permitted to play.

University of Arizona
Age: 18
Date of death: June 8, 2004

Umeh reported for the first voluntary workout with Arizona. That morning, he underwent a physical exam before heading out into 95-degree heat. He collapsed 15 minutes into the workout and was taken to a nearby medical center. Umeh was pronounced dead less than an hour later. Through an autopsy, the coroner found Umeh had an enlarged heart. Umeh was the second Arizona football player in a decade to die after a workout — Damon Terrell died in 1995 after collapsing during practice.

Bowling Green State University
Age: 18
Date of death: Sept. 15, 2004

A three-sport high school athlete trying to walk on to BGSU’s football team, the freshman Richardson died after his first practice. The practice started with a series of sprints for about 10 minutes — known as “gassers.” Richardson complained of calf cramps afterward and was allegedly cursed at by Defensive Coordinator Tim Beckman for failing to continue. He was taken to the locker room where he became unresponsive, and the assistant athletic trainer called 911. Less than two hours later, he was pronounced dead at the hospital.

An autopsy revealed Richardson died from complications surrounding sickle cell trait. Richardson’s mother filed a wrongful death suit against the university, but the Court of Claims of Ohio and an appeals court found the university not liable. Richardson was the second BGSU athlete to die within two years while playing for the school — soccer player Leslie Dawley collapsed on the field during a game in 2002 and later died.

Aaron Richardson runs for a touchdown during a game against Norwalk in this Sept. 6, 2002 photo in Perkins Township, Ohio. Richardson, a freshman walk-on at Bowling Green, died at a hospital Sept. 15, 2004, after becoming ill during the first 10 minutes of practice, school officials said. (AP Photo/Sandusky Register, Daniel Miller)

Aaron O’Neal (Photo courtesy of University of Missouri)

University of Missouri
Age: 19
Date of death: July 12, 2005

The St. Louis native O’Neal was a 19-year-old redshirt freshman heading into the 2005 season with Missouri. He started to struggle during agility drills about 45 minutes into a preseason voluntary workout, which the media was invited to observe. O’Neal told coaches, “I’m trying. I’m not weak. I just can’t go on,” court records say. A teammate was chastised for helping him back to the locker room. Rather than taking O’Neal immediately to a nearby hospital when his condition worsened, coaches sent him in a campus truck to the team offices. A trainer called 911, and O’Neal died soon after he arrived at the hospital — about 90 minutes after the workout ended. The medical examiner originally attributed the death to viral meningitis, but during litigation, experts called the cause of death into question and attributed it to sickle cell trait.

The O’Neal family received $2 million in the wrongful death settlement against the university, in addition to $250,000 to a scholarship fund at the University of Missouri in Aaron’s name.

Rice University
Age: 19
Date of death: Sept. 25, 2006

Rice players who saw a lot of playing time in the previous day’s game reported for practice to undergo a vigorous weight training and conditioning workout. After lifting weights, the players needed to run 16 100-yard sprints, each at 18 seconds or less. Shortly after beginning the sprints, Lloyd became short of breath, and his muscles started tightening. Coaches did nothing to help Lloyd when it became clear he was suffering from physical distress, court documents allege. Some players tried to help their teammate, but a coach told them to leave Lloyd alone. He collapsed on the field and lost consciousness. He died the following day from collapse due to sickle cell trait.

Lloyd’s family received an undisclosed settlement in a wrongful death suit against the university. As a part of a settlement, the NCAA started advising its members to test players for sickle cell trait, which led to a testing requirement.

Dale Lloyd II (Photo courtesy of Rice University)

Claude Terell and Tammie Dorsey, stepfather and mother of Keeley Dorsey, spoke at a news conference about the death of their son, Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2007, in Tallahassee, Florida. Dorsey, a football player for the University of South Florida, died after collapsing during a team conditioning workout at the school's athletic facility. (AP Photo/Phil Coale)

University of South Florida
Age: 19
Date of death: Jan. 17, 2007

Dorsey passed out during an offseason conditioning workout, and he was given immediate first-aid attention. Dorsey was later transported to the university hospital, where he died. A medical examiner determined that the 5-foot-11, 210-pound freshman running back may have suffered from an existing heart condition that led to his fatal collapse, but DNA tests were unable to confirm it. The family hired a law firm to pursue possible litigation, but opted not to file suit against the university.

University of Central Florida
Age: 19
Date of death: March 18, 2008

During an offseason workout, Plancher was participating in mat drills, which consisted of weight training, conditioning, agility drills, sprints and gassers that “push many of the UCF football team’s members beyond the point of exhaustion,” court documents say. During the workout, Plancher started experiencing dizziness, shortness of breath and an inability to verbally respond to questions, according to his family’s lawsuit.

Three players testified that head coach George O’Leary ordered water and trainers to be removed from the field, though O’Leary and three other players disputed this in testimony. According to the Orlando Sentinel, O’Leary swore at Plancher when he fell during the workout. “I remember having blurred vision when I was trying to do the offensive drills,” former UCF player Cody Minnich testified in court. “The majority of it was just spent like being dizzy.”

Plancher died from complications due to sickle cell trait.

A jury ruled the UCF Athletics Association negligent in Plancher’s death and ordered the family be given $10 million. However, the Florida Supreme Court ruled on appeal that damages must be limited to $200,000 because of state sovereign immunity laws.

Ereck Plancher (Photo courtesy of University of Central Florida)

North Carolina A&T State University
Age: 22
Date of death: May 28, 2008

The two-year starting offensive lineman collapsed after a voluntary offseason workout that began with 45 minutes of weightlifting, and proceeded with sprints up and down a hill. He complained of dizziness when returning to the locker room and lost consciousness shortly thereafter. He died the following day. His death was attributed to heatstroke, but the medical examiner ruled that sickle cell trait played a role in his death. His mother sued the university and received a $350,000 settlement, according to the North Carolina Department of Justice.

In 2010, Jospin Milandu died from collapse from sickle cell trait while trying out for North Carolina A&T’s track team. Athletic trainer Roland Lovelace was fired after emails emerged revealing he advised coaches against testing for the condition.

Western Carolina University
Age: 20
Date of death: July 8, 2009

Junior defensive back Ja’Quayvin Smalls, a transfer student, died following his first voluntary offseason practice with the team. About 90 minutes into the workout, Smalls complained of cramps. While he was being treated, Smalls stopped breathing. He was transported to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Court documents say Smalls’ mother disclosed to the university in a questionnaire that he carried the sickle cell trait, according to The Post and Courier (Charleston, South Carolina). The Smalls family settled with Western Carolina for $600,000, but the agreement does not include any admission of guilt by the athletics program. After Smalls’ death, the university began mandatory sickle cell testing.

Bennie “Buster” Abram III (Photo courtesy of University of Mississippi)

University of Mississippi
Age: 20
Date of death: Feb. 19, 2010

As the first day of winter workouts began, Abram told the coaching staff he felt ill and requested to not participate, according to documents from a wrongful death lawsuit. But coaches allegedly told the 20-year-old community college transfer student and walk-on that if he didn’t join his teammates he would be off the team.

After stretching and a half-mile run, players went through strength and agility drills at 10 different stations. Abram collapsed after the first drill, and was castigated by coaches and pushed to continue, court documents say. At the second station, Abram again collapsed, and was helped to the sidelines. As players lined up for wind sprints, Abram was transported to the hospital. He died about six hours after arriving at the hospital from complications connected to sickle cell trait.

The Ole Miss Athletics Foundation paid $50,000 to the Abram family “as a settlement to avoid further legal expenses,” the university said in a statement at the time. The family also received $275,000 under an NCAA insurance policy.

Tennessee State University
Age: 19
Date of death: Nov. 7, 2012

A redshirt freshman defensive back, Jones suffered a cardiac arrest shortly after beginning a noncontact practice. A wrongful death lawsuit, which was eventually dismissed, claimed Jones said he did not feel well earlier in the day, and athletic personnel failed to provide Jones with adequate care after he collapsed during a “deep ball” drill for defensive backs. "No assistance was provided to him, and an unreasonable period of time elapsed before anyone approached him or attempted to provide any help," the lawsuit says. Tennessee courts dismissed the suit, ruling that TSU’s medical care “did not cause Mr. Jones’ death.”

University of California, Berkeley
Age: 21
Date of death: Feb. 7, 2014

Agu, a defensive lineman, collapsed after repeated sprints up and down a hill while holding onto a rope. Head strength and conditioning coach Damon Harrington designed the new drill to try “something new, exciting, fresh, kind of keep the guys engaged,” he said in his deposition.

A lawsuit alleged that coaches ignored Agu as he was clearly struggling and falling before collapsing. The medical examiner originally attributed his death to cardiac arrest from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, but changed the determination to collapse from sickle cell trait after learning the account of the players.

Agu was diagnosed with sickle cell trait in 2010, and the team’s head physician, Casey Batten, had informed the team that he should be handled with care. After testimony in a wrongful death lawsuit, it came to light that Batten and other team officials did not disclose to county coroners that Agu carried the trait. Head football trainer Robert Jackson observed the workout as Agu collapsed. He was previously the trainer who led the workout at the University of Central Florida when Ereck Plancher died of sickle cell collapse.

California-Berkeley admitted liability after the suit and settled with the family for $4.75 million.

California defensive ends Todd Barr (41) and Brennan Scarlett (17) carry the jersey of teammate Ted Agu before a game between the California Golden Bears and the BYU Cougars on Nov. 29, 2014 at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, California. Agu died during offseason conditioning earlier that year from complications related to the sickle cell trait. (Icon Sportswire via AP Images)

Morgan State University
Age: 18
Date of Death: Aug. 24, 2014

Meadow was 18 when he collapsed from heatstroke during a preseason practice. The 6-foot-2, 300-pound freshman spent two weeks in the hospital before he died. A lawsuit claimed Meadow died during a “punishment practice,” where players ran for over an hour straight in the summer heat. A wrongful death lawsuit alleged that after Meadow was removed from the field, staff did not record his temperature accurately and tried to lower his body temperature by putting cold water on his groin and armpits.

The lawsuit ended with an undisclosed settlement. One year after Meadow’s death, head athletic trainer Michelle Daniels told The Baltimore Sun the team had not changed how it monitors or hydrates players during workouts.

NCAA requires that strength coaches be certified through a nationally accredited certification program.

University at Buffalo
Age: 20
Date of death: Feb. 29, 2016

Jackson, a sophomore redshirt defensive end, collapsed during the first offseason conditioning workout of the season. According to the University at Buffalo’s student newspaper, The Spectrum, it was a “nonstop” workout with hurdles, running and agility training. After collapsing, Jackson was sent to the hospital, where he died a week later. The university said in a statement that Jackson died of a “medical emergency,” and did not release any information on what led to his death, or his cause of death, citing privacy concerns. Autopsy reports were never released, but Jackson’s father said he died of “natural causes,” in an interview with The Spectrum.

NCAA releases the “Interassociation Consensus Statement on Cardiovascular Care of College Student-Athletes,” guidelines for proper care for athletes who suffer cardiac arrest, and preventive measures.

Kent State University
Age: 19
Date of death: June 13, 2017

Heintz, a freshman, died from exertional heatstroke following conditioning drills during a preseason workout. It was the 6-foot-4, 275-pound offensive lineman’s second day of practice.

The university fired strength and conditioning coach Ross Bowsher, who oversaw the workout that led to Heintz’s death, after a university investigation found he did not have the professional certification required. The university investigation found the workout was conducted in “accordance with national protocols for student-athlete health and safety.”

Jordan McNair (Photo courtesy of University of Maryland)

University of Maryland
Age: 19
Date of death: June 13, 2018

During the first late-spring conditioning workout May 29, McNair showed signs of exhaustion as he tried to finish 10, 110-yard sprints. After the seventh repetition, the 6-foot-4, 325-pound offensive lineman complained of dizziness and cramping. He finished the final three sprints. Head athletic trainer Wes Robinson, reportedly yelled to “drag his ass across the field.”

According to an internal investigation, staff tried to cool McNair’s body temperature by covering him with cold, wet towels. Staff did not immerse him in a cold-water bath, the surefire way to prevent heatstroke death. It took more than an hour and a half after McNair first started showing symptoms before he arrived at the hospital. By the time he reached the hospital, his body temperature had reached 106 degrees. He died two weeks later.

After ESPN released a report in August 2018 detailing a culture of abuse on the team, the university suspended head coach DJ Durkin and head strength and conditioning coach Rick Court. University President Wallace Loh then went on to say the school accepted "legal and moral responsibility for the mistakes" that led to McNair’s death.

After the internal investigation was released that October, the University System of Maryland Board of Regents reinstated Durkin. However, Loh fired Durkin the following day. Durkin received $5.4 million in severance pay and Court received $315,000. Durkin has since been hired as an assistant coach at Ole Miss.

In January 2021, McNair’s family reached a settlement with the university for $3.5 million.

University of Maine
Age: 18
Date of death: July 24, 2018

Fifteen minutes into an offseason workout, Minor told the strength and conditioning coach he felt like he was going to pass out. He collapsed soon after, and efforts to resuscitate him by team staff and emergency responders were unsuccessful.

School officials described the practice as a “supervised light workout,” which included sled drills with short breaks in between. The medical examiner ruled his death a sudden cardiac arrest. He had no known preexisting medical conditions and passed two physicals before starting practice.

Darius Minor (Photo courtesy of University of Maine)