A 16-year-old high school football player from Staten Island died during practice yesterday after collapsing on the field.
According to officials, Curtis High School student Miles Kirkland-Thomas collapsed at around 10:30 a.m. yesterday. Though emergency workers tried to resuscitate him, he was transported to an area hospital and was later pronounced dead. The city's medical examiner will determine his exact cause of death today.
The Daily News reports that Kirkland-Thomas stood 6'3 and weighed 320 pounds (SI Advance says 6'2 and 295 pounds), and had been ordered to run sprints that morning after showing up late for practice. Family members told the News that he was stopped by coaches after a couple of sprints, and collapsed shortly thereafter. "“The coach said he was talking to him; he said Miles took a step back,” his father, Jamar Thomas, said. “He said Miles fainted toward him; he went to grab him — they both hit the ground.” Thomas also told the tabloid that his son may have run up a steep hill in order to make it to practice on time, and that he had passed a mandatory physical in July.
The Department of Education has not responded to our request for comment, but the school's athletic director told the SI Advance that the coaching staff is "distraught beyond imagination," adding that the school would be providing grief counselors for both students and staff.
Though Kirkland-Thomas's cause of death is still unknown, it's not unheard of for football players to collapse on the field after overheating, and complications from heatstroke can be fatal. Last month, a freshman football player at Morgan State High School in Baltimore died after suffering heatstroke during a practice a few weeks prior; in July 2012, a 15-year-old student at a different Staten Island high school collapsed and died during a pre-season conditioning session.
Update 11:50 a.m.: The Department of Education sent us the following statement from NYC Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña:
I am deeply saddened to learn of this tragic loss and my heart goes out to the family. We will be supporting the school community as we investigate the matter.
