It was a high school gathering no one wanted to see: a tribute to Robert Gillon, a 15-year-old Florida boy who died earlier this month of possible cardiac arrest the morning after complaining of chest pain before heading to football practice.
He is one of at least seven young American football players who have died in August.
“It’s just one of those things you thought would never happen,” said Ryan Craddock, whose 13-year-old son, Cohen was rushed to hospital in West Virginia after hitting his head during football practice on Aug. 23.
“It was just a standard part, there was nothing different,” Craddock told CBS News.
Cohen was wearing a helmet, but the injury caused his brain to swell and he died the next day.
Caden Tellier, 16, died on August 23 after suffering a serious head injury at a game at his school in Alabama.
Leslie Noble, also 16, collapsed in a field in Baltimore and died on August 14 after possible heat stroke.
“If you look at the leading causes of catastrophic problems in children, we’re talking heat, we’re talking heart, we’re talking head,” said Dr. Joseph Chorley, chief of sports medicine at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston.
Chorley believes parents need to be proactive, talk to coaches and find out who is supervising players. They also need to make sure “they are trained and have the equipment they need in case something goes wrong.”
Ryan Craddock is already taking action, urging schools to attach padded head guards, called goalie caps, to football helmets.
“I don’t want to waste any time,” Craddock said. “That’s why I’m trying to push for these kids to be given a goalie cap. … I don’t want this to happen to anybody else.”
Carter Evans
