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 – with help from the University of Connecticut — to do something about it, The Associated Press reports.
UConn and the National Football League 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 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.
The NFL also will help publicize and market the institute, and few sports organizations are more effective in those areas.
One of the primary missions of the institute will be to extend awareness, education and advocacy about the proper precautions to avoid heat stroke through its website (ksi.uconn.edu).
The institute also will offer its services to athletic trainers, team physicians, athletic directors, coaches, league supervisors, parents, principals, equipment manufacturers and others to create proper protocols, policies and emergency action plans to prevent sudden death in sport, especially as it relates to heat stroke.
