Where Are The Sportswriters?

 I’m old enough to remember a time when a professional, college, or even high school athlete collapsing on the field would be major news. Depending on the name recognition of the athlete, stories would range from local to statewide to national. If it happened in other countries, their media would cover it thoroughly because even though athletes don’t make as much money abroad as they do in the United States, they are more often considered to be local heroes deserving of recognition. In the 60's an NFL player from the Detroit Lions died on the field. It was a big deal throughout the media.

Now, ask your nearest friend or family member how many athletes are known to have collapsed this year with cardiac arrests or other major ailments. 

If you guessed anywhere under 300, you’d be wrong.

How many of these resulted in deaths? Similar to what I mentioned earlier, the death of an athlete due to heart attacks or other conditions not normally associated with young athletes always made the news in the past. There would be years when there were fewer than 10 reports that matched this criteria. In 2021, there have been 176 such deaths.