How did Korey Stringer die? Tragic story of former Minnesota Vikings lineman's death
Korey Stringer's death, story, aftermath
It was 20 years ago that Korey Stringer, a fully healthy NFL OT, passed away after a scorching hot practice for the Minnesota Vikings. He died suddenly, at the age of 27 and it wasn't a sudden heart attack, underlying tumor, or even a football injury. The cause of death was determined to be heat exhaustion, or complications from exertional heatstroke. The main issue is that this is an easily avoidable and treatable condition. The NFL has the top athletic trainers, so how did a star OT die from this?
Back in the early 2000s, most athletic trainers and sports medicine practitioners ignored heatstroke as a severe condition or issue. Korey Stringer's death was tragic, but it did help lead to a necessary change in the sports world.
Korey Stringer was a 1995 1st-round pick by the Minnesota Vikings and made the Pro Bowl in 2000. Entering the 2001 training camp, Stringer was said to be in great shape. Prior to the 2001 season, Stringer had struggled to manage his weight. All the signs pointed towards Korey Stringer having another great Pro Bowl-worthy season. An interesting fact is that he was a well-known excessive sweater and even had a sense of humor about it. Every season, it usually took Korey Stringer a few days to get reacclimated to the heat during practice.
During the first day of practice in 2001, Korey Stringer vomited three times and was taken to an air-conditioned area to recover. Unfortunately, Stringer was caught on camera getting sick and a photo appeared in the Minneapolis Star Tribune the following day. It caused him to get angry and embarrassed by the act, which led to Stringer not leaving the field at all on Day 2 of practice and powering through. On Day 3, the heat index was over 90 degrees and Korey Stringer once again vomited in practice. He was taken off the field to tend to an ankle injury, but did return. Korey Stringer was documented as one of six Vikings players suffering from heat exhaustion that day. Later in practice, he fell over after hitting a blocking bag and laid out on the ground in distress. Even after he was taken back to the air-conditioned area, he was never formally treated for heat exhaustion.
After an hour in the medical area nearly unresponsive, Korey Stringer was taken to the hospital with an internal temperature of over 108. About 12 hours later, Korey Stringer suffered from multiple organ failure and passed away.
Right after the news of Korey Stringer's passing and the cause of death, football organizations and programs all over the country implemented better, updated precautions for heat conditions and hydration. There are also better observations of players mentally and physically "pushing through" and coaches not forcing players past their limits in the heat.
Korey Stringer's widow, Kelci Stringer, described it as it "gave them permission to use common sense." She is one of the main founders of the KSI (Korey Stringer Institute), along with the NFL, University of Connecticut, and Gatorade. KSI was initiated to aid in the process of making heat conditions and heat exhaustion a more serious condition with better precautions and treatments. In a decade, there were over 50% fewer deaths from heatstroke. Many states have put in place new laws and guidelines for mandatory safety protocols dealing with heat exhaustion and heat conditions.
To put Korey Stringer's death in retrospect, the first day of practice when he first got sick should have warranted him taking at least the rest of the day and the following day off. If he showed up for Day 2 and powered through, that could be considered the first act of his demise.
Today, two decades later, the NFL sends training videos and tools to all medical personnel annually to teach and remind of hydration, warning signs of heatstroke, and proper treatment. It is stated that a player loses 8-12 liters of fluid each day during training camp. If a player gets sick now, they are taken off the field and monitored closely. They usually take one or two days off afterwards to rehydrate the body fully. No pads were used in practice until about the seventh day of camp, so no one is pushed too far too quickly.
Korey Stringer's brother, Kevin, might have said it best.
"Anytime there is a major change in how society does things, it's typically because someone died or got hurt in some way."