Florida High School Football Player Dies After Game, Marking Another Tragic Loss in School Year

Friday night, a well-liked Florida high school football player passed out during a game and died, according to school officials. This is the seventh recent death of a high school athlete.

Chance Gainer, a senior at Florida’s Panhandle’s Port St. Joe High School, fell while playing defense in a game at Liberty County High School right before halftime, according to Gulf District Schools Superintendent Jim Norton in an interview with CNN on Saturday.

Norton said, “He is a great young man who can be turned into a hero.” “Chance is a friend of mine.”

Norton said that Gainer was declared dead at an area hospital less than a month after his 18th birthday. This meant that his parents and siblings would have to deal with life without him.

The Associated Press reports that the National Federation of State High School Associations said last week that six high school players had died in the past month. Four of them died of heart problems and two were hit. With the death of Gainer, that number is now seven.

Along with these deaths, CNN earlier reported that at least three US college football players have died since the beginning of the school year.

CNN affiliate WDHN says that Semaj Wilkins, a teen from Alabama, died on August 13 after having a medical issue during football practice at New Brockton High School. Caden Tellier, 16, died of a brain injury in the first game of the season on the same day that 13-year-old Cohen Craddock died after a crash in football practice.

The reason why Gainer died has not been made public. CNN tried to find out more by calling the medical examiner’s office in Pensacola, Florida.

Norton says Gainer passed out and was unconscious as he walked back to a defense huddle after getting water. The school director said he didn’t know if Gainer had any health problems.

In the past few years, more and more kids have been hurt on the field. According to the most current data from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, injuries to youth football players went down sharply from 2013 to 2019. They leveled off in 2020, which happened to coincide with Covid-19 lockdowns, but then started going up again in 2021.

His smile was bright

Norton said Geter scored two touchdowns the night he died, which helped the team win.

Norton says that Gainer’s death has caused a lot of trouble in the small beach town of Port St. Joe. About 500 people go to that high school, and everyone knows each other well.

A statement from Norton said, “Family, friends, school staff, and clergy from the community gathered at Port St. Joe High School after the tragedy just to be together and love on them.” The family then joined them when they got back to town.

Norton says Gainer had just been to Vanderbilt University in Nashville, where he wanted to play football.

Norton said, “In school, he had the grades.” „He was thrilled to death at the thought of going to Vanderbilt and the educational opportunities it would have given him.

Parents, brothers, and Chance’s high school sweetheart, who is a cheerleader for the football team, say they will remember him.

Chief Sissy Godwin said in a statement that Gainer was friendly and quiet by nature.

“Chance might not have been heard because of all the other people, but you could see his smile from across the room,” she said.