Latest HS football death totals eight this season

The death of a Virginia high school athlete last week marked the eighth football-related fatality this season. That ties last year’s total as the most since 1976.

Park View High (Virginia) junior lineman Jamond Salley was injured during a game against Brunswick County High, came to the sidelines and collapsed unconscious. Moments later he fell into a bout of seizures and he was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. The death is the eighth this year to occur immediately after a player collapsed at a football game or practice, either on the field or sidelines and follows just weeks after three players died in the span of one week.

The eight player deaths in 2014 match the number who died in 2013, with more than a month still to play counting state playoff games. Like 2013, it is also the most player deaths in a single season since 1976, a stark statistic that underlines the growing concern shown by parents about the safety of youth football at various levels.

Clearly, this has been a troubling year for the game, these schools and their families. Much progress has been made in keeping athletes safe, but nothing is guaranteed. 

In many of these cases, we still don’t know the cause of death or whether they could have been avoided. That day will come, but for right now our thoughts are with the families and friends of the athletes. 

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