Is the Desire to Play Becoming a Death Sentence?

Throughout history, there have been instances where athletes have collapsed and died from medical issues that have gone undetected. According to hughston.com, athletes dying after sporting events have been documented for centuries. In 490 B.C. Phidippides, an athlete from Greece, ran 26 miles to deliver a message of Greek victory in a war and then collapsed and died. While that first account happened many, many years ago, before medical advancement, it was the start of a trend of many young, relatively healthy athletes dying in the course of or after a sporting event. Granted, there are many, many sporting events each day around the world where athletes compete and are fine physically afterwards. However, any case of an athlete dying, especially if he/she is competing with a medical condition, is unacceptable. So, that raises the question, should athletes undergo more extensive and more frequent physical exams? And, should there be regulations on the number and extent of rest and hydration breaks during practices and games? Research and data shows that the answer is obvious. Athletes exert energy that common people do not; therefore, they are subject to more strain on the body. That, I believe, is why athletes should be held to a higher physical exam regiment than other people and why they need to monitored more extensively during physical exertion.

Hughston.com states that two-thirds of all sudden deaths in football and basketball athletes occur due to heart conditions, followed by soccer. Annually, that accounts for 1 to 2 sudden athlete deaths in every 200,000 athletes. An article from the Huffington Post states that many of these sudden deaths are attributed to a condition known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. This condition, which causes the heart to be irregularly or asymmetrically sized, can often go undetected and lead to a lack of blood being pumped, especially during physical activity like sporting events. This article suggests that frequent ECG tests could detect such abnormalities of the heart and could possibly prevent sudden deaths of athletes during and after sporting events. It is also important to understand that improper hydration and overexertion can also cause sudden deaths in athletes, especially when compounded with medical problems.

While doctors and coaches know the dangers of sudden deaths, it is only when another young person dies that the need for more extensive physical exams become a topic of conversation. To indicate just how big of a problem sudden deaths in athletes are in this country, Joel Siegel of ABC World News, wrote an article devoted to discussing six high school football players who died suddenly either during or after a summer football workout or practice. While Siegel states that some of these players died of irregular heart conditions, he also stresses the danger of having young people in the sun exerting themselves for an extended period of time. Heat stroke is also a common form of athlete death and should be addressed by coaches. Siegel states that young men, often who are larger than normal people their age, should frequently be given breaks and take in larger than normal amounts of fluid during practices. Also, coaches should be aware that wearing helmets and football equipment for long periods of time in the heat should be avoided and frequent breaks should be given.

So, what can be done to help young athletes avoid life-threatening situations or even death while competing or practicing for sporting events? First, more frequent and more vigorous medical exams should be done on athletes in generally, and especially those who are adolescents and young adults. Also, an article Nola.com the “Times Picayune Greater New Orleans,” states that the problem is so large that the NCAA is looking into ways to evaluate athletes and practice conditions before problems occur. This is on the heels of over 20 college football players suddenly dying since 2000. The article also stresses that coaches, on top of monitoring the health of athletes, should focus on proper conditioning and practice breaks. It is crucial that these coaches be vigilant of changes in the behavior and appearance of their athletes while practicing and during competitions.

          It is true that all deaths in athletes can not be avoided. However, with the advances in medical sciences and the diligence and awareness of coaches, many deaths can be prevented. It is a fact that many athletes will push themselves past their limits just to play football, basketball, etc. But, they should be aware ,and so should the adults who supervise them, that there are times when pushing too hard can be dangerous. With the data, it is obvious that new technologies and awareness can help solve this problem. Athletes and coaches need to work together and lessen the number of deaths of athletes. Young people will always want to participate in sporting events, but it is the adults around them: coaches, parents, doctors, etc. who have to notice problems and have the athletes examined before something serious occurs. With the help of everyone involved, athletes can be healthy and still enjoy their sports.

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