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American Morning

Getting Caught Up in the Heat of Competition

Aired August 02, 2001 - 09:48   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.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DENNIS GREEN, MINNESOTA VIKINGS HEAD COACH: We have lost a brother, a teammate and a friend. It's been very tough on our football team. The reason we're here is to let the public know how much we love and care about Korey Stringer and what he's meant to us.

CRIS CARTER, MINNESOTA VIKINGS PLAYER: I know everyone is going to talk about the heat. It's hot everywhere. That's why they call it the dog days of summer. You have to realize, too, that everything in life, there is no explanation for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: The death of Minnesota Vikings lineman Korey Stringer from heat stroke has raised concerns about summer training camps. But athletes, coaches and trainers at all levels can get caught up in the heat of competition.

More now from CNN/Sports Illustrated's Paul Crane.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL CRANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Football players are trained to handle the toughest of conditions. But Korey Stringer's death has brought to light the fact that sometimes conditions can be too tough, even for a professional athlete.

DR. KNOX TODD, EMORY UNIV. MEDICAL SCHOOL: Once the body's compensatory mechanisms are overcome, body temperature can rise dramatically and rapidly. A temperature of 108 degrees Fahrenheit is associated with a high incidence of organ injury, brain injury, and, unfortunately, death.

GEORGE O'LEARY, GEORGIA TECH FOOTBALL COACH: I think the athlete is so much quicker, stronger and faster now, that they expend a little bit -- probably more energy. And they're probably in better shape. And the thing you have, you have so many kids now where they're fat percent is so much down that they have trouble retaining water.

CRANE: And NFL player dying from heat stroke is extremely rare. Incidents are more common among high schools and colleges, where support staffs are often smaller. But just last week, University of Florida freshman fullback Eraste Autin died of heat stroke, bringing to 18 the number of heat-related deaths in high school and college football over the past six years.

On average, in the United States, approximately 300 people die each year from heat exposure. But most fatalities in football come from contact injuries: 24 in 1999 alone.

(on camera): When the legendary "Bear" Bryant coached at Texas A&M in the 1950s, he once took 111 players to a preseason camp where water breaks were not allowed. Enough of them either got sick, injured or just quit that only 24 were healthy enough to play on opening day. Football coaches and staffs have certainly changed their approach to toughening players during two-a-days.

O'LEARY: I draw a line in practice three or four times where I'm going to break and make sure they get the water intake they're supposed to get. Plus, they are constantly getting water during practice, which I think is the big thing that we look at.

CRANE (voice-over): Stringer's death is bound to make coaches and trainers more aware of the dangers of the heat. But, ultimately, players themselves must be willing to ask for help as soon as they feel the heat has gotten the better of them.

TREV ALBERTS, NFL ANALYST: That's the difficult thing, because a guy like Korey Stringer, anybody -- when you go in and you get the I.V. fluids, one after another, the guys will come by you and make fun of you and say: Come on, you wuss, get back in there and play.

You have to know your body. You have to set your parameters. It's your life and your body.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And that was Paul Crane of CNN/Sports Illustrated.

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