Student Collapse Keeps Football Team Off Field

HENRY COUNTY, Ga.,None — Locust Grove High School football players remained off the field on Friday, five days after a teammate collapsed during volunteer practice.

School officials told Channel 2’s Craig Lucie they aren’t sure if heat exhaustion caused the 10th-grader to faint while walking back to the locker room. Temperatures on the field have measured well above 90 degrees all week, officials told Lucie.

The student is being treated at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta after being transferred from a hospital in Henry County.

Henry County Schools spokesman J.D. Hardin said the football coaches followed protocol when it came to practicing in the heat. Hardin said all of the players had clearance to be on the field.

“Every student has to be cleared by a doctor. They have to present a physical,” Hardin told Lucie. They also have to sign a consent form, the parents, that makes them aware of the risks in high school sports.”

The forms are required by the Georgia High School Association, which also provides presentations and videos on heat-related illnesses and sports nutrition.

The hospital is still doing tests to see if the player had a pre-existing medical condition.

The other players are expected to return to the field on Monday.

WSBTV