A Florida high school football player collapsed on the field during a game and died Friday night following a string of several teen athlete deaths across the nation.
Chance Gainer, an 18-year-old honor student and defensive back at Port St. Joe High School in Gulf County, suddenly dropped to the ground during a play, Liberty County Athletic Director and Assistant Principal Tim Davis told the Ocala Star Banner.
According to Gulf County School Superintendent Jim Norton, Gainer did not have a pulse when paramedics first got to him, but they were able to bring it back before he was loaded into an ambulance.
He was soon pronounced dead at a Blountstown hospital, however.
“We got the news about an hour later that he had died,” said Davis, who was with the opposing team. “The game had about four minutes left in the fourth quarter, and the decision was made to go ahead and finish it so the Port St. Joe coaches could inform the players together.”
The Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) shared its condolences on Saturday:
“We extend our heartfelt sympathy to the family of Chance Gainer, the Port St. Joe community, and everyone affected during this difficult time. You are in our thoughts, and we wish you strength and resilience. #DoItFor2,” athletic officials wrote.
The cause of death has not been announced.
“He just went to the ground suddenly,” Davis said. “Coaches attended to him, and, after a few minutes, they called for EMS. After they got to the field, they took him off to an ambulance behind the visitors’ bench. One of our school resource officers drove the ambulance to Blountstown while the medics worked on him.”
After the news broke on the field, parents and supporters came down from the stands to console Gainer’s teammates.
“Many were crying and hugging each other,” Davis said. “It puts everything in perspective, for sure.”
Norton said Gainer “had world-class speed but, more importantly, had a world-class personality,” adding that the football player had a higher-than-4.0 grade point average and wanted to attend Vanderbilt University in Tennessee.
The late senior scored a 70-yard touchdown in the game before he died.
The tragic news follows the death of 16-year-old Los Angeles junior varsity football player Christopher Garcia, who suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) during an August 23 game before succumbing to his wounds, KTLA reported.
Garcia, a junior at South Gate High School, got hurt during a tackle and was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance.
It was the third TBI death that week, according to Dr. Chris Nowinski of the Concussion Legacy Foundation:
Alabama 14-year-old Semaj Wilkins also died during an August 13 football practice after experiencing a “medical emergency,” NBC News reported.
His grieving mother, Regena Adams, told the publication that more research needs to be done to come up with safety guidelines for players.
“It still seems like a nightmare to me,” she said. “I’m at peace that I know he’s gone, but it still seems unreal.”
Karissa Niehoff, CEO of the National Federation of State High School Associations, said six high school football players died in August, with four of the incidents believed to be related to cardiac arrest and two suspected to have been caused by player-on-player contact.
“We intend to hit. It’s hard contact, but it’s part of the game,” Niehoff said.
The federation writes the rules that high school sports follow.
“There’s so much great energy around the sport, but, unfortunately, with sports comes risk,” she added. “We have our hearts broken alongside our celebrations.”