The National Federation of State High School Associations said last week that six high school student athletes died within the past month, four of them from heart issues and two from being hit, according to the Associated Press. Gainer’s death brings that number to seven.

I feel like high school football players dropping dead with heart issues isn't normal. But maybe I'm the weirdo. shrug-outta-hecks

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[–] [email protected] 55 points 2 months ago (4 children)

As someone who fled Florida a month ago after living my whole life there, my immediate thought isn’t covid, my immediate thought is “Playing football in Florida in September is insanely fucking dangerous”

Minors should not be allowed to play football. If it’s going to be allowed, flag football only. In Florida, any outdoor sports cannot be allowed between April and October. Playing football outside in September is fucking insane, and it’s no fucking wonder kids are dropping dead.

It’s the heat. It’s climate change. Honestly playing outdoor sports in September in Florida was stupid before climate change, but now it’s dangerous insanity. I guarantee you this kid died of heat stroke.

September is not fall in Florida. Florida doesn’t have fall, it has a hot wet season from April to October, and a mild dry season from November to March. September is solidly still the summer. It is in the 90s nearly every day, with the heat index regularly hitting 110.

[–] [email protected] 30 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Apparently I wasn’t done ranting:

When I was in high school, I knew so so so many kids in marching band and track who regularly threw up or passed out because of the heat. It was just an expected fact of life.

Floridian school teachers don’t take the heat seriously as a threat. Idk if they’re just not properly educated on the danger of heat or if they’re just uncaring assholes. Knowing my high school coaches, it’s probably a mix of both.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

mayos after moving from a subcontinent where it's 60 F year round to a place with 90 F summers: hmmmm yes mayhaps I will mandate we wear the same clothing as in the motherland. So shall it be

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago

Formal clothes is where that really always stood out to me. What the fuck do you mean you’re wearing a suit? It’s 95 degrees outside with 200% humidity. You’ll drown.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 2 months ago (1 children)

In Florida, can confirm it's been hot as hell. But they're not just dying Florida. but I guess we're spreading the hell now. this-is-fine My first thought was the collapsed Olympians so I went to Covid. And honestly, I'm still not ruling it out as a factor.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 2 months ago

Yeah my full guess is he either had covid or had damage from long covid that made him more susceptible to the heat, but the primary cause was playing football in Florida in September

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago

It’s the heat.

Not this case, he was playing at night and the peak afternoon temperature in Port St Joe on Sept 6 was 78 F

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Idk if I would call 60% humidity in the “winter” dry, but I guess dry for Florida, yeah.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 months ago (1 children)

“Dry” less relating to the humidity and more that it doesn’t thunderstorm every single afternoon

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago

Ah, yeah fair. Dry heat generally refers to humidity but yeah. We have hot season, hot and hurricane season, that one week of winter, and hot and rainy season.

[–] [email protected] 32 points 2 months ago (2 children)

afaik most of the deaths are from heat exhaustion

[–] [email protected] 16 points 2 months ago

oh well shit. That's not great either.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago

Norton says Gainer was walking back to a defensive huddle after taking a water break when he collapsed and was unconscious.

Wonder how hot it was and how long practice had been going on.

or if this was the first break for water they got

[–] [email protected] 23 points 2 months ago (1 children)

It's besides the point but, fucking hell, maybe don't include

this quote

“Academically, he had the grades,” Norton said. “He was excited to death about the possibility of going to Vanderbilt for the educational opportunity that it would have afforded him.”

when talking about a student who just died, CNN

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Gotta get out in front of the 'no angel' rhetoric tho.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I think they mean the "excited to death" part

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago

Lol, I know.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 2 months ago

I feel like high school football players dropping dead with heart issues isn't normal.

THE VACCINES agony-shivering

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago

Maybe it's just because I only know very few things, but perhaps the heart issues are commotio cordis? Football is the sport where it seems most likely to happen despite padding because they hit each other so hard, which (with very specific placement and timing) is what causes the condition.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago

The heart issues are probably undiagnosed hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. HCM is inherited and often starts symptoms during adolescence. And it’s often what causes random cardiac arrest during high school sports. It’s why many programs require echocardiograms as part of the screening physical exam.

A surprising number of people have it, about 1 in 500, and go their whole lives with no significant issue. But sports like football seem to be better at “finding” the problem with repeated brief bursts of exertion.