High School Player Dies After Making a Tackle

NPR and Fox News count seven deaths of middle and high school students related to football in August. The count for September appears to be at least two, after the deaths of players in Florida and California. The latter occurred when 16-year-old Christopher Garcia of South East High School remained on the ground after making a tackle in a junior-varsity game, reports the Los Angeles Times. The game took place on Aug. 23, and the teen died this month in the hospital. The cause of death has not been specified.

"You're in disbelief," Ryan Craddock, the father of 13-year-old Cohen Craddock, tells WSAZ. Cohen died last month during practice drills in West Virginia. "You wish it was a bad dream you could wake up from," he adds. "It's agony inside. I can't put words to. It's terrible." The 2024 numbers may outpace those from last year: The National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury says 16 youth league, middle school, high school, and college football players died in 2023, with 13 of those deaths directly or indirectly related to football. (More high school football stories.)