Report: Garden City Community College player died of heat stroke after first practice
A Garden City (Kan.) Community College freshman who died after the team’s first day of practice is now believed to have died from a heat stroke.
19-year-old Braeden Bradforth was found “medically distressed” by a teammate in his dorm room after 9:30 p.m. on Aug. 1, just hours after the team’s first day of practice. He was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead nearly two hours later.
According to Sports Illustrated, the autopsy found that Bradforth died of a exertional heat stroke.
“Considering the facts surrounding the case (decedent’s first intense workout of the year; ambient temperature in the 80s F with humidity; stomach containing food and vomiting; a hemorrhagic diathesis; tachycardia; tachypnea; possible complicating comorbidities of overweight, cardiac hypertrophy, and history of asthma), the cause of death is judged to be exertional heat stroke,” the autopsy reads, via Sports Illustrated.
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Former Garden City coach Jeff Sims initially was told that a test was “indicative of a blood clotting disorder.” However, the autopsy report found that “there was no evidence of pulmonary thromboembolism,” ruling out a blood clot. A toxicology test for drugs and alcohol also came back negative.
Bradforth was a defensive lineman from New Jersey, and was in his first season with the Broncbusters. He had moved to Garden City just two days before his death. His mother, Joanne Ingram, hired a lawyer shortly after his death. While they have not filed a lawsuit yet, as they are waiting for further information, they said it is “certainly very possible.”
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“At this point, we just want answers,” Ingram’s attorney, Jill Greene, told Sports Illustrated.
GCCC is currently conducting an internal review, which is being led by interim athletic director Colin Lamb.
“Garden City Community College received word on November 29th that the autopsy report for former GCCC student Braeden Bradforth was released as public record,” GCCC said in a statement last week. “The report cites Braden’s cause of death as exertional heat stroke. Garden City Community College grieves with Braeden’s family after his untimely death in August of 2018. The institution recognizes the importance of the autopsy’s findings, and that these findings provide Braden’s family with an understanding of the medical circumstances surrounding his passing. In order to provide additional factual information, an internal review is being conducted by GCCC administrators. The review was launched at the direction of Interim President, Dr. Ryan Ruda. It was among the first actions taken in his new role. The ongoing review is intended to ensure that the college can transparently inform the community, the media, and — most importantly — Braeden’s family of the accurate facts and circumstances surrounding Braeden’s death.”
Bradforth’s death follows Maryland offensive lineman Jordan McNair’s, who died in June via complications from a heat stroke following a team workout. Maryland coach D.J. Durkin was later fired as a result of the incident and allegations that he was running a “toxic” program.
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