A high school basketball player from Alabama has died after suffering cardiac arrest in the midst of practice.
A top high school basketball player from Alabama died after suffering cardiac arrest in the midst of practice, leaving family members in shock.
Caleb White, 17, from Pinson Valley High School (PVHS), Jefferson County, became ill while working out with his teammates. “24 hours ago, my grandson Caleb White collapsed on the basketball court, went into cardiac arrest and all attempts to resuscitate him failed. This was similar to the illness Labron James’ son experienced as he was working out,” Caleb’s grandfather George Varnadoe Jr.
said in a Facebook post on Friday.
“Our family is overwhelmed by the outpouring of support but still in disbelief. Our whole family was really looking forward to his upcoming senior season and afterwards, playing for a D-1 school and then perhaps the NBA. But … It wasn’t meant to be.”
In an Aug. 10
statement, the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) confirmed that Caleb had suffered a “medical emergency” at school on Thursday. He was taken to a hospital where the player was pronounced deceased.
The 6-feet young man was a first-time all-state player for his school team. Caleb was also one of the three finalists for the Class 6A “player of the year” as a junior. He was set to take over as captain of the school team in his final high school year.
According to ESPN college sports
data, Caleb was ranked third at the state level and 43rd for the point guard position.
After news of his death became known, tributes for the young player poured in. “Heartbroken,” Joe Cochran, the mayor of Pinson,
said in a Facebook post. “No words can be gathered to provide comfort to a family and community experiencing the loss of young life.”
“Please lift Caleb’s family and friends along with the entire PVHS community in prayer for the hours, weeks, months, and years ahead.”
The LeBron James incident referred to by Caleb’s grandfather in the Facebook post is regarding the NBA player’s 18-year-old son, Bronny James, who experiencing sudden
cardiac arrest on July 25 during basketball training at the University of Southern Florida. Mr. James’ son was discharged from hospital and is recovering at home.
Following the incident, Tesla CEO Elon Musk raised concerns about COVID-19 vaccines being potentially associated.
“We cannot ascribe everything to the COVID vaccine, but by the same token, we cannot ascribe nothing. Myocarditis is a known side effect. The only question is whether it is rare or common,” Mr. Musk
said in a post on X.
In June, Dominican professional basketball player Oscar Cabrera Adames died at the age of 28 due to heart disease. The player claimed that he developed myocarditis after receiving two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. Myocarditis is inflammation of the heart muscle.
Studies on Vaccine Risks, Sudden Deaths of Young Athletes
The sudden death of Caleb has become a hot topic online as enquiries continue into the unclear links between COVID, COVID vaccines, and heart issues.A
study funded by the South Korean government has confirmed that COVID-19 vaccines can cause sudden death. In June, authorities said that eight people died suddenly after receiving an mRNA vaccine due to myocarditis.
All the sudden cardiac deaths (SCD) occurred in people aged 45 and younger. One of the victims was a 33-year-old man who died just one day after he received the second shot of the Moderna vaccine. Another case involved a 30-year-old woman who died three days after getting her first dose of a Pfizer vaccine.
The results show the need for “careful monitoring or warning of SCD as a potentially fatal complication of COVID-19 vaccination, especially in individuals who are ages under 45 years with mRNA vaccination,” the study said.
In an interview with The Epoch Times, Dr. Andrew Bostom, a retired professor of medicine in the United States, said that the results show why mandating COVID-19 vaccines for young people was flawed.
“These are people who ostensibly did not need the vaccine,” he said. “That’s what adds insult to injury.”
In July, a systematic
review that looked into the issue of COVID-induced myocarditis and pericarditis found that individuals who had been injected with mRNA COVID-19 vaccines had two times the risk of developing these conditions compared to those who did not get vaccinated and were not infected by COVID-19. Pericarditis is inflammation of the fibrous tissue surrounding the heart.
During an NTDTV program, Dr. Yuhong Dong, a virologist and infectious disease specialist in Europe, suggested that preliminary evidence shows a potential linear upward trend of myocarditis and pericarditis post COVID-19 vaccination and the spreading of COVID.
