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CNN Live At Daybreak
Fallout From Korey Stringer's Death
Aired August 03, 2001 - 08:12 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: We've got more on the fallout from the death of Korey Stringer. Summer practice sessions for pro football players are getting special attention now. The sports world is still talking about the heat-related death of the Minnesota Vikings lineman.
Bob Lorenz of CNN's "Sports Illustrated" is here with an update.
The memorial is scheduled for today. And I am sure that the team is still just reeling from this loss.
BOB LORENZ, "SPORTS ILLUSTRATED": Yes, they are. Absolutely.
And I guess the best way to put it was the way head coach Dennis Green said, you know, I'm old school. And in the old days, you don't go about any business until the body is finally laid to rest. And that's what they are going to do.
The final service will be held Monday in Stringer's hometown of Warren, Ohio. So until that point, it's really pretty much shut down for the Vikings.
LIN: Right.
LORENZ: They'll go about business, but it's not business as usual.
LIN: Big change, though, in yesterday's abbreviated practice. We've got some video of this, and people are going to see in just a second players coming out, and they are in full pads as Korey Stringer was that day. They are practicing in shorts. They are trying to take some extra precautions, it looks like.
LORENZ: Well, I think for the Vikings, that was a way just to sort of get back to work. But again, they can't really do anything -- can't get their minds off what happened. He decided to go without the pads and just go with shirts and shoulders or just with shorts just to sort of get his players out there -- get them going through the motions again.
Some other camps did practice in pads, but there are guys taking special precautions. And camps are taking a look at that. For example, the Giants offensive tackle, Lomas Brown, said, you know, first day at camp, he started to feel very woozy. So he went right to the trainer knowing what happened to Korey Stringer. LIN: Right.
LORENZ: Last year, he said he remembered that he went to a local hospital, got five to seven bags of IV fluid.
LIN: That much!
LORENZ: Yes. So he -- that happens to a lot of guys. It's not uncommon in these camps that guys go and get I.V.s. But the problem is it goes back to that macho mentality of camp.
LIN: Right.
LORENZ: They don't want to be the first guy...
LIN: Right.
LORENZ: ... to have to go and get an I.V.
LIN: But more awareness now of the dangers. You know, yesterday there was a moment where the team gathered together in prayer. It's a very poignant picture of these players as they try to honor what happened.
What do you know about what is going through the minds of the individual players and the coaches? And why don't they feel guilty about what happened -- the would have, could have, should have factor?
LORENZ: Well, Dennis Green said, you know what? I hope nobody on this team feels like they are to blame. I mean, you can sit there and say that the Minnesota Vikings should have monitored the story better, and what happened with Korey Stringer. That they should have taken precautions in light of the fact that there was a report that Stringer had been -- had vomited three times in that morning practice. And his offensive line coach, Mike Tice, said he thinks that was inaccurate. He asked guys, they said that that wasn't the case -- that in fact, he looked like he was having a terrific practice. Maybe there was some carryover from Monday...
LIN: Right.
LORENZ: ... when Stringer broke down in practice, and he had to be pulled out. And he had to be attended to...
LIN: Right.
LORENZ: ... for dehydration. And that maybe overnight, maybe some things developed. And what happened is then Tuesday morning when he was out there, it really began to snowball.
LIN: Yes, and he has been fighting -- he has fought a weight problem in the past, and doctors do say that bigger people have -- are at greater risk for heat-related problems.
The fans really came out, though -- started a makeshift memorial.
What is the feeling and the sense of the fan base of who Korey Stringer was? Who was this guy?
LORENZ: Well, you know, a lot of times now, fans don't get to know athletes as much as they used to in the old days. There is not as much -- training camp is a good way to get up close with fans and get autographs and interviews. People, especially on the team, say the reason this guy is going to be missed so much was his love of life.
LIN: Really.
LORENZ: He did all sorts of imitations of coaches and players and had these imitations -- impressions just nailed, especially Dennis Green. So people are going to miss that. Everybody talked about him as a fun-loving guy. And when you are on such a tight-knit unit, like an offensive line and then an entire football team, that really means a lot, especially trying to get you through training camp.
LIN: And only 27 years old.
LORENZ: Yes.
LIN: A big loss. Thank you very much, Bob Lorenz.
LORENZ: You're welcome.
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