Football-related deaths The deaths of seven middle and high school students in August alone have prompted parents and others to warn that sports safety measures should be taken more seriously.
The seven dead include 13-year-old Cohen Craddock of West Virginia, 16-year-old Caden Taylor of Alabama, 15-year-old Jayvion Taylor of Virginia, 14-year-old Semaj Wilkins of Alabama, 15-year-old Robert James Gillon III of Florida, 16-year-old Leslie Noble of Maryland, and 15-year-old Ovett Gomez-Regalado of Maryland.
The circumstances of his death vary. From heatstroke to chest pain and head injuries.
“I call him Mr. Personality, great kid, he wanted everybody to like him. He just wanted to be happy,” Cohen’s father, Robert Craddock, told Fox News Digital about his son. “Loved sports, hunting, fishing, he was a very outgoing guy, very big in church. He was a wonderful kid, I couldn’t be more proud of him as a father.”
West Virginia middle school football player dies after suffering head injury during practice
Middle and high school football players who died in August include 13-year-old Cohen Craddock of West Virginia, 16-year-old Caden Tellier of Alabama, 15-year-old Robert James Gillon III of Florida, 15-year-old Javion Taylor of Virginia, 15-year-old Ovet Gomez-Regalado of Maryland, 14-year-old Semaj Wilkins of Alabama and 16-year-old Leslie Noble of Maryland. (Thomas A. Ferrara/Newsday RM/Facebook/GoFundMe/Selma Funeral Home)
Cohen was in his sophomore year of football when he suffered a fatal head injury during practice on Aug. 23, Robert Craddock said.
“He was doing football practice, normal practice. Another boy was making blocks. Cohen’s foot slipped and he fell to the ground. When he fell to the ground, his head hit the ground. And that’s what caused his head injury, which eventually led to his death,” Robert explained, later adding that he never dreamed he would be in the position he is in now.
“This is hard for me to understand,” the grieving father said.
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Cohen was in his second year of Craddock football when he suffered a fatal head injury during practice on Aug. 23. (Handout)
Since his son’s death, Robert has made it his mission to make Guardian Caps mandatory for football teams, which are padded football helmet covers for players. Robert said the caps don’t replace the helmets themselves, but add an extra layer of protection.
“Protect your children at all costs.”
“Protect your kids at all costs,” he said when asked if he had any advice for parents whose kids play football, “Whether it’s stepping up, talking to coaches about different techniques … or buying ourselves Guardian Caps, let’s do everything in our power to protect our kids.”
The same day Cohen was injured, Tellier also suffered a head injury in the third quarter of his team’s winning game against Southern Academy in Selma, Alabama. He died the next day.
Caden Tellier suffered a head injury in the third quarter of his team’s winning game against Southern Academy in Selma, Alabama. He died the next day. (Selma Funeral Home)
“Our son, Caden Tellier has met Jesus face to face. We appreciate all of your prayers and wish him well for the difficult days ahead,” Caden’s mother, Arcella Slagle Tellier, wrote in a Facebook post last month. “Everyone who knows Caden has known kindness, generosity and love, and true to his nature, he is giving of himself once again. The way he has lived has impacted the lives of many and now his passing will save many lives. We will walk with him in his earthly body over the next few days, knowing his soul is rejoicing in heaven.”
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Wetherington Law Firm in Georgia says the deaths of seven teenagers in August have “raised concerns about the safety of youth soccer, and are calling for better equipment, training and awareness of the dangers posed by extreme heat” and that the company is providing legal assistance to families affected by such tragedies.
“These things are incredibly preventable. We already have the laws in place.”
Attorney Matt Wetherington, the firm’s founder, said school football is “still the wild west” in terms of mandating safety measures to protect kids from life-changing or life-threatening injuries. He pointed out that coaches — and more broadly, School boards and districts – Not following required safety measures for children, even if they are mandated by the state such as those already in place in Georgia, including the Georgia Return to Play Act, heat safety guidelines, and the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Prevention Act.
Matt Wetherington, founder and attorney at a Georgia-based law firm, said school football is “still the wild west” when it comes to mandating safety measures to protect kids from life-changing or fatal injuries. (Steve Nurenberg/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/TNS)
“Obviously, foodball is sacred in Georgia,” Wetherington said, but it’s not “special” in the sense that school districts and boards are going out of their way to create more safety measures and awareness for students and parents despite the level of danger involved in such a highly physical contact sport.
“School boards and states are responsible for protecting student-athletes.”
“They have a legal duty to ensure compliance with safety protocols, such as cooling stations, emergency action plans and preparation for immediate medical response. Failure to comply can result in preventable injuries or deaths,” he said.
Marty McNair, the father of Jordan McNair, 19, of Randallstown, Maryland, who collapsed during football practice and died of heatstroke in 2018, is standing up to prevent similar tragedies for other families. McNair was a player at the University of Maryland at the time.
“As a father who lost his son Jordan to a heat-related injury on the football field, my thoughts are with the families who have suffered the unimaginable pain of losing their children in these recent tragedies. I know the devastation firsthand, and no parent should ever have to endure a loss like this,” McNair said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
Marty McNair, the father of 19-year-old Jordan McNair of Randallstown, Maryland, who collapsed during football practice in 2018 and died of heatstroke, is standing up to prevent similar tragedies for other families. (Jordan McNair Foundation)
He said with the 2024 football season set to begin, his “advice to parents is to always put your child’s safety first.”
“Be proactive in understanding safety measures at your child’s play area. Ask questions about hydration protocols, heat management, and emergency action plans. Make sure your child knows it’s okay to speak up if they feel unwell or unsafe on the field. Teach them that their health is more important than any sport,” he said. “At the Jordan McNair Foundation, we’re here to help better equip parents, athletes, and coaches with the knowledge and tools to prevent these tragedies. Losing Jordan changed my life, and our mission is to ensure no other family has to go through what we did. Stay involved, stay informed, and above all, make sure your child knows their safety comes first — always.”
The National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research reports a total of 16 football-related deaths in 2023. Nine of those 16 victims were in middle or high school.
The National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research reports 16 football-related deaths in 2023. (National Disaster Sports Injury Research Center)
As per NCCSIR data, there were six football deaths in 2021, three in 2022 and two in 2023 in the months of July and August of the last three academic years.
For middle and high school students, traumatic deaths (head injuries, spinal cord injuries, etc.) caused four deaths in 2019, zero deaths in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, four deaths in 2021, three deaths in 2022, and two deaths in 2023. According to NCCSIR, physical exertion-related deaths (including heat stroke, cardiac arrest, syclosis, etc.) among middle and high school students caused nine deaths in 2019, seven in 2020, 11 in 2021, five in 2022, and five in 2023.
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Table IV. shows heat stroke deaths by year, and there are years with high numbers, such as 5 and 6, just not in the last decade. July and August tend to have the most deaths, so the 3 we have recorded so far in middle/high school this year are similar to years 2020 (4) and 2021 (3).
While all 50 states have some laws to prevent sports-related concussions, laws related to heat stroke are rare. States that have such laws to prevent heat stroke include Florida, Texas, California, New Jersey, and North Carolina.
