(RightWing.org) – A cadet at the US Air Force Academy has died after he collapsed on his way to class. The 21-year-old, who played football for the school, had just left his dormitory when he dropped to the ground. Now, the Academy is mourning a lost colleague while local and military cops investigate the mysterious death.
Air Force Academy football player dies after medical emergency on way to class https://t.co/D9zCrFO8ar pic.twitter.com/NiLT8oYgYF
— The Hill (@thehill) January 12, 2023
The first day of classes after winter break at the Air Force Academy in El Paso County, Colorado, started on Monday, January 9. Cadet 3rd Class Hunter Brown, equivalent to a sophomore at a civilian university, began reprising his role as an offensive lineman for the Air Force Falcons shortly after he returned.
Unfortunately, Brown’s physical fitness failed to protect him from passing away. As he left his dormitory for the new semester’s classes, he suffered what the Academy is currently calling a “medical emergency.”
Medical corpsmen frantically worked on the young man in an attempt to save his life. Sadly, he died at the scene anyway.
The Academy command structure quickly moved to praise Brown and console his fellow cadets after the loss. Superintendent Lt. Gen. Richard M. Clark called the “well respected” servicemember a “standout” football player and “incredible young man.”
Cadet Commandant Brig. Gen. Paul D. Moga expressed “profound sadness” over the incident. He also reminded Brown’s friends and classmates that chaplains, mental health professionals and others were available to help them cope with their grief.
The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office has since joined the Air Force Office of Special Investigations in a collaborative probe into Brown’s death. But the young man’s loss isn’t the only strange occurrence of such an incident in recent weeks. Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest during a January 2 game, catapulting the issue of sudden death among athletes into the headlines.
Despite official dismissals and “fact checks” by mainstream media outlets, there are worrying hints that the number of athletes suffering (and in some cases, dying from) cardiac events has exploded over the last two years. One Israeli study found that between 2001 and 2020, 4.2 FIFA-registered soccer players suddenly passed away as a direct result of cardiac or unexplained causes during a game. That number reportedly surged to 21 in 2021.
Whether or not Cadet Brown’s tragic death is linked to this worrying trend remains unclear. Hopefully, the Air Force’s investigators will find out.
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