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American Morning

Korey Stringer Died of Heat Stroke

Aired August 01, 2001 - 11:01   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.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: First this hour, the surprising death of Minnesota Viking tackle Korey Stringer. The 27-year-old NFL star died from a heat stroke this morning. Temperatures at the training camp were near 100 when he collapsed. Heat has now killed 20 players in high school, college and the NFL in recent years.

Reporter Dave Hansen from Minneapolis affiliate KMSP joins us now. He is at the Vikings' training camp in Mankato, Minnesota -- good morning.

DAVE HANSEN, KMSP CORRESPONDENT: And good morning, Leon.

Stunned is the collective reaction that we are getting from fans this morning. Some of them actually traveled more than four hours away to get here to actually see the practice and they are finding out that there is not going to be a practice today. It has been canceled in favor of a news conference that will happen at this podium within the hour. And the Vikings will try to explain just what happened with Korey Stringer.

Let's show you some videotape right now from camp and we'll show you what was happening. The pro ball offensive tackle had not been feeling well both Monday and yesterday, vomiting after practices. Stringer was working out in full pants yesterday in nearly 100 degree heat. It felt something like 110 to 116 degrees on the field.

After yesterday morning's practice, he was rushed to the local hospital. He had a body temperature of around 108 degrees. Stringer never regained consciousness after he arrived at the hospital. This all led to organ failure. Stringer's heart stopped beating just before two this morning.

Fans we talked to this morning are finding it all a little hard to understand.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FAN: You almost feel guilty coming down here because you come down here and you expect autographs and you expect people to be practicing and, you know, you just, you have to try to understand what the players are going through right now and it's pretty hard being a fan and, you know, all you have to rely on is the media and it's just really hard right now because it's trying to, you know, understand what they're going through. UNIDENTIFIED FAN: I'm glad they canceled practice, everything, because he deserves it, so, Korey Stringer. So it's the right thing to do, I figured. Pretty emotional right now about it so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANSEN: Well, some fans are also wondering about the wisdom of long practices in the heat. That is something the Vikings may choose to address. A bigger question now, though, is how they will fill that hole on the offensive line because, of course, Stringer was counted on, or was going to be counted on as a veteran this season. And, of course, he was also counted on in the locker room. He was a big guy there and somebody who picked people up. He was also somebody who volunteered a lot in the community.

So it is a big loss on a number of levels. The Vikings say that their prayers go out to Korey Stringer's family and, of course, to Korey Stringer himself, and, of course, that sentiment is also shared by the fans and we are expected to learn more about his death within the hour here during a news conference.

Reporting live from Mankato, Minnesota, Dave Hansen for CNN.

HARRIS: Dave, Leon Harris here. Before I let you go, I want to ask you if you've had a chance to see or speak with any of the players this morning? Have any of them come out? I know they've got to be surprised, because Korey showed up in camp this year in the best shape of his life, just about.

HANSEN: And that's what a lot of people are saying, Leon. They find this all very hard to believe. But he was really having a difficult time during these first two days of camp. I mean he'd whittled him down, himself down to about 335 pounds. But he just was not feeling good these first two days.

As far as talking to the players themselves, we have not had an opportunity to do that. The Vikings are asking fans and other folks to respect their privacy today and not approach them for autographs. But we're hoping that some of them will show up here at this news conference so we can learn a little more about what is going on in their heads.

HARRIS: OK, and what time is that news conference going to happen?

HANSEN: That one is going to happen at 11:00 Central Time. That'll be 12:00 Eastern Time.

HARRIS: OK, good deal. Dave Hansen, our affiliate KMSP, thank you very much for getting up there and filing that report for us.

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