By Staff
There are lessons to be learned for everyone from the tragic death of San Francisco 49ers' offensively lineman Thomas Herrion's death.
Despite efforts by doctors, trainers, owners and school officials, we continue to see deaths happen on the practice field due to players either being out of condition and over extending themselves, or from the heat and dehydration.
We need to be vigilant in making sure that athletes get the proper training and conditioning without forcing them to the brink of collapse.
We need to make sure that they are properly hydrated when conditions become extremely hot and humid.
And, we need to make sure that coaches and trainers listen to their athletes when they say that they are not feeling good.
What happened to Herrion this past weekend goes to prove that even the healthiest athlete can suffer the biggest tragedy of them all - death.
But was he really healthy?
In the NFL world, you bet. Standing 6-foot-3, and weighing 310 pounds, he was in ideal shape for any lineman in the league. They can take the pounding blows the other guys force onto them and not too many guys can get past them.
But enter the real world and you have a 23-year-old, who would be considered "severely obese."
Though obesity can't necessarily be blamed for the death, experts say it surely could have been a contributor, since obesity is associated with sudden death and since the average weight for a 6-3, 23-year-old male is roughly around 180 pounds.
Being in the NFL, one would think that Herrion would be in the best shape.
He goes through intense training and works out almost everyday and before the season started he passed a broad range of physicals the NFL demands from all its players.
So what happened? Only time will tell. An autopsy done said no cause of death could be determined until toxicology tests were performed. These tests usually take about three to six weeks.
One things for sure, Herrion's death will force the NFL to increase efforts to teach players about managing the heat and dehydration. It should also set off warning bells throughout the college and high school worlds as to the dangers of working athletes beyond their body's ability to handle the exertion.
Many of coaches won't allow their players to practice during the hottest hours of the day and coaches have been monitoring how much liquid their players are drinking.
Others have started using devices to measure players' core body temperatures - a good preventive measure, but almost certainly not something that could have saved Herrion on Saturday.
Herrion adds to a very short list of NFL deaths that also includes St. Louis Cardinals tight end J.V. Cain, who died of a heart attack during training camp in 1979, Detroit Lions receiver Chuck Hughes, who died of a heart attack during a game in 1971, and of course Korey Stringer of the Minnesota Vikings who died in 2001.
It is a shame that it takes a tragedy such as this to keep this topic on the front burner.
Let's hope that in the future, we can eliminate death from the playing field.