Dead player’s moms and dads seeking information from Bucknell

Tisha Thompson, ESPNAug 23, 2024, 01:08 PM ET Close Tisha Thompson is an investigative press reporter for ESPN based in Washington, D.C. Her work appears on all platforms, both domestically and internationally.Bucknell University has told the moms and dads of a freshman football player who died in July that it is examining his death, however the player’s parents state they are unhappy with the school’s response since Bucknell has actually not supplied any details about the circumstances resulting in their boy’s death.Calvin”C.J.” Dickey Jr., an 18-year-old freshman, passed away July 12, two days after collapsing at his very first workout with the Bisons. Emergency situation medical professionals told Dickey’s moms and dads that he collapsed from sickle cell-related rhabdomyolysis, a medical condition that specialists informed ESPN is easily avoided, and even reversed, by simply stopping workout. Dickey’s parents said their child had actually formerly checked favorable for sickle cell trait as part of NCAA-required testing for professional athletes. They said the team’s head fitness instructor understood about the results of the test before Dickey came to Bucknell.Editor’s Picks

Individuals with sickle cell characteristic are at a higher threat of a lethal condition if they start to feel tired and do not stop working out. The NCAA’s online “reality sheet” for coaches says that “knowledge of sickle cell trait status can be a gateway to education and simple precautions that may prevent collapse amongst professional athletes with sickle cell quality, permitting them to flourish in sport.”

It is unclear what procedures Bucknell had in place to keep an eye on Dickey’s condition during his very first workout. Dickey, while in the health center after collapsing, informed his moms and dads he had been doing repeated up-downs, a training workout in which players quickly drop into a pushup position before jumping into a squat and then standing position.Bucknell decreased to respond to a breakdown of questions from ESPN or to make Bucknell’s football coach and head athletic fitness instructor offered for an interview. In a statement to ESPN, a spokesperson for the school said, “We offer our deepest condolences to the Dickey family, and are not able to comment even more at this time.” “I desire [Bucknell] to own

this, to take responsibility,” his mother, Nicole Dickey, told ESPN.”Nothing is going to bring our child back. I desire the reality.” Dickey’s moms and dads want a review of any video recordings of the workout session and other occasions preceding his collapse, as well as interviews with athletes and personnel. In a letter to the family’s attorney, evaluated by ESPN, Bucknell said it was investigating Dickey’s death. “The moms and dads are ravaged, clearly,” stated household attorney Mike Caspino.”However their devastation is compounded by the truth that Bucknell is not being transparent. Regardless of repeated ask for information, they have actually denied these demands. They have repeatedly told us that their investigation is ongoing, and they can’t provide us with any details.”The household is attempting to piece together what occurred to their child based on documents and remarks he and his physicians made before he passed away. Calvin Dickey Jr. decided to play football for the Bucknell Bisons due to the fact that”he seemed like they desired him,”his mom stated. Dickey Family Dickey’s parents stated their child never ever experienced any concerns with fatigue while practicing or playing football and baseball for Carrollwood Day School in Tampa, Florida– even when playing both offensive and protective line in 100-degree weather his senior year. “He was probably the hardest-working kid I have ever been around,”said Raymond McNeil, among Carrollwood’s football coaches.”He played through injuries. He played through everything.

This is a kid that’s actually playing 100 to 110 plays a game on both sides of the ball. “When it came time for college, Dickey chose to play football at Bucknell due to the fact that” he felt like they desired him,”Nicole said.His mom stated the household never checked Dickey for sickle cell quality till the NCAA required it which she wasn’t surprised when the test revealed he had the characteristic due to the fact that she has it as well.She said she sent paperwork to Bucknell confirming the outcomes of Dickey’s test. Nicole said she talked to head football athletic trainer Kaiti Hager roughly two weeks before Dickey arrived on school. Hager verified on that call that they knew Dickey had sickle cell characteristic, Nicole said.Dickey’s daddy, Calvin Sr., dropped off his kid for his very first day of minicamp at Bucknell on July 10 at roughly 10:45 a.m. Nicole has a copy of the agenda for the day, which indicates their boy and other incoming freshmen were arranged to have a” med check”at twelve noon.

The Dickeys do not know what occurred during those meetings or even if those meetings in fact happened.The agenda likewise reveals”offending lifting “at 1 p.m. in the weight room followed by 2:15 p.m. “protective lifting” and”very first year/transfer lifting”at 3:30 p.m.At 3:29 p.m., Nicole got a phone call from her typically laid-back boy.” He was extremely agitated,”she said.” He was exceptionally upset.” Dickey informed his mom that he and 9 other players had not been “cleared to do workouts or to start training today,”she said.Dickey’s moms and dads stated they were struck by how upset their kid was and are still unclear about why he was so uncharacteristically upset. She stated she attempted to soothe him down, telling him,”If you do not exercise today, it’s OK. You’ve got the remainder of the summer season

.”Ten minutes later, Dickey called his mom back and said, “The coaches said it was something they did refrain from doing, but we’re cleared, and I’m going to work out, “according to Nicole.Then, at 5:16 p.m., Nicole got a call from Hager saying she was at the emergency room with Dickey and that he collapsed at practice and”has actually passed out. “The Dickeys drove as quickly as they could to the community hospital where Hager fulfilled them at roughly 5:45 p.m. The athletic trainer told them their boy had remained in an air-conditioned structure when he passed out which “someone needed to get her “since she wasn’t in the room when he collapsed, Calvin Sr. said. It’s uncertain if Dickey was exercising in the air-conditioned structure or somewhere else.”She said when she discovered him, he ran out

it and he was sort of clammy. She stated his heart rhythm was off, or he had an abnormal heart rhythm or something of that nature. And she said she likewise needed to stun him,”Calvin Sr. stated.”She didn’t say if it achieved success or not. “Calvin Sr. stated he analyzed the trainer’s words to imply Hager attempted to utilize an automatic external defibrillator despite the fact that their child had a noticeable heartbeat. Hager did not react to ESPN’s ask for comment.When Dickey’s parents saw their child at about 6 p.m., he had actually gained back consciousness but had low high blood pressure and a high heart rate, was breathing heavily and was asking consistently for water.When Nicole asked her child what had occurred, Dickey reacted,” They had us doing up-downs “which”some of the kids were not getting it right, so they had us repeat doing them.”The Dickeys said an emergency room medical professional handed them a hard copy about sickle cell-induced rhabdomyolysis before informing them their boy was at threat of kidney and liver damage and required to be transported to Geisinger Medical Center, a Level I trauma center in Danville, Pennsylvania.Rhabdomyolysis is the medical terminology for when muscle breaks down and passes away. When somebody with sickle cell quality doesn’t stop exercising, their blood cells can begin to”sickle, “or develop into a moon shape, stated Dr. Kimberly Harmon, the head football physician at the University of Washington who has released numerous research study papers on abrupt death associated with sickle cell trait.These moon-shaped cells” get stuck in the really, extremely small little blood vessels, called the blood vessels, in the muscles and create a log jam or a dam to the muscles,”Harmon said.”The muscles can’t get oxygen since these moon-shaped blood cells are obstructing

the blood supply and the muscle passes away.”As a result, she stated, the muscles release toxins and other contents that cause heart arrhythmias, kidney damage and organ failure, all of which can result in death.The secret to preventing rhabdomyolysis, Harmon stated, is for somebody to right away stop working out as quickly as they start to feel fatigued. Athletes with sickle cell trait report experiencing cramping, most

often in the legs and back. These “cramps, “Harmon said, can feel different and are drooping to the touch, while regular cramping often triggers a muscle to end up being hard.Harmon stated there is a substantial difference in between sickle cell characteristic and sickle cell illness, which would avoid individuals from playing sports. She and other professionals keep in mind a number of collegiate players with sickle cell characteristic have actually gone on to have successful careers in the NFL.Dickey got to the trauma healthcare facility at around

10 p.m. the same day he collapsed and was later put on dialysis, according to his parents.Two days later, on July 12, according to his moms and dads, his weight had actually ballooned from 290 pounds to more than 315 pounds, and he was hurried into emergency situation surgical treatment to slice open both of his calves and one of his lower arms to alleviate pressure building in his extremities.”He was beginning to lose feeling in his fingers and toes and feet, and his arms were

swelling,”Calvin Sr. said.”The analogy they utilized resembled sausages, when they get hot and they divided. They had to do that in order to launch the pressure from his arms. “His moms and dads said Dickey’s heart stopped beating throughout surgery and that medical professionals were able to resuscitate him before returning him to his room. But after surgery, Dickey’s heart stopped at least four more times, and his moms and dads seen as doctors utilized CPR and an AED to attempt to resuscitate him.” They shocked him, two, perhaps three times. It lifts him off the bed. It was so violent,”Calvin Sr. said.”You can see, like, his whole body lifting up, and I’m like, ‘Oh my God, what is this?’ “The last time Dickey’s heart stopped, Nicole said the physicians tried to bring him back for 20 minutes before she and Calvin Sr. told them to stop.” It was the toughest decision I ever made in my life, ever. And I practically regret making it, “Calvin Sr. stated.”But at the very same time, to see your child going through this, you don’t want this for your kid.

“Silently crying beside her hubby, Nicole nodded as he stated,”When they were working on him, he was not actually breathing. “”C.J.’s spirit was not there,” she stated. From delegated right, Calvin

Dickey Sr., Calvin Dickey Jr. and his sister Patrice, and Nicole Dickey. Dickey Family Dickey’s moms and dads state they think their boy’s death was preventable.”I keep asking Calvin [Sr.], what could they have done?”Nicole stated.”What could they have potentially done [at Bucknell] that he has not experienced in Florida?” They are still waiting on the results of the regional coroner’s report. A personal autopsy asked for by the household, performed by Dr. Jose SuarezHoyos in Tampa after the regional coroner completed his autopsy, discovered that numerous organs, consisting of the lungs, had red blood cells in the sickle shape.The NCAA has needed athletes to be tested for sickle cell trait because 2010, a relocation that stemmed from a settlement contract with the household of Dale Lloyd II, a Rice University football player who collapsed throughout practice and died from rhabdomyolysis.” The NCAA nationwide workplace does not talk about any prospective or continuous investigations,”the NCAA stated in a statement to ESPN.”The NCAA requires screening for Sickle

Cell Trait for all student-athletes who are starting their preliminary season of eligibility or for students who are trying out for a group. Schools have main responsibility for the health and safety of their student-athletes. The NCAA provides education and resource materials for schools on Sickle Cell Characteristic that are available on the NCAA’s website. “In its online reality sheet for coaches, the NCAA states,”Events of sudden death in professional athletes with sickle cell quality have actually been exclusive to conditioning sessions instead of game or skill practice scenarios. … Coaches should carry out appropriate sport-specific conditioning based upon sound clinical principles and be prepared to step in when student-athletes show indications of distress. Student-athletes can begin to experience signs after only one to 3 minutes of sprinting

, or in any other full effort of continual effort, therefore quickly increasing the danger of complications.”The pamphlet supplies about a lots ideas for how athletes with sickle cell characteristic can moderate their exercise, consisting of:” Implement a slow and progressive preseason conditioning regimen that prepares them for the rigors of the sport, “”be supplied sufficient rest and recovery in between repetitions, particularly during’gassers ‘and intense station or ‘mat’drills “and”be permitted to set their own speed while conditioning.”

David Beaty, who hired Lloyd to Rice as the team’s offending organizer, said he didn’t recognize at the time how dangerous sickle cell characteristic could be. As the head coach at the University of Kansas, Beaty required players with sickle cell characteristic to wear a different color jersey or helmet during exercises so fitness instructors and coaches might easily determine them if they started to battle.”I made sure that every time we go over our medical report, which is every single day, at the bottom of the report are the sickle cell kids. And every day, I would read their names off up until all of us coaches had dedicated it to memory,”

stated Beaty, who is now the wide receivers coach at Florida Atlantic University.Beaty said he would like to see the NCAA enhance its requireds and need all coaches to receive extra education on death associated with sickle cell quality.”They do not have to die,” Beaty restated.” There’s no drill, no practice, no amount of pushing, no lesson to be found out. There’s nothing worth a kid’s life.”The day before Dickey collapsed, he and his dad met with Bucknell’s training staff, including assistant offensive line coach Sean Pearson. According to Calvin Sr., Pearson informed him,” You’re providing a young man to me now. I’m going to deliver you a man when he’s ended up here at Bucknell. We’re going to take excellent care of your boy.”Calvin Sr. and his partner now want answers from the university and its coaches.” I want to hear from them,” Calvin Sr. stated.

“Not sugar-coating it, but who didn’t do what? Who ought to have done something and what might have been done or should have been done so this doesn’t take place again. “