NEW YORK — Alarmingly, the number of athletes dying from heat-related illnesses is rising. Kelci Stringer, the widow of Vikings tackle Korey Stringer, who died from heat stroke nine years ago, hopes to do something about it.
So do the NFL and the University of Connecticut, who have partnered with Stringer to open the Korey Stringer Institute at UConn’s Neag School of Education. The creation of the institute will be announced Friday at the NFL Draft.
If the last 35 years are broken into blocks of five years, the worst segment for such deaths has been, shockingly, the last five years. According to Dr. Doug Casa, professor of kinesiology at UConn and the lead researcher for the institute, there have been twice as many deaths in that span than was the average for previous five-year blocks.
“That shows why this institute is needed so much,” Casa said. “The legacy of Korey Stringer could be saving lives.”
Stringer died of complications due to heat stroke on Aug. 1, 2001 during training camp. At 27, he was the first professional football player to die from the illness.
Kelci Stringer spent several years in court suing the NFL and equipment manufacturers, all the while envisioning a day when there are athletic trainers at every high school in the nation; today, only about half of the schools have one. And she imagined a time when pro, college and youth sports organizations have set policies on prevention of heat illnesses.
She believes that day soon will arrive.
