Creatine Indicated in KY High School Football Heat-Related Death

A widely covered case has concluded involving a Kentucky high school football coach who made his players run extra wind sprints in extremely hot weather as a punishment for unsatisfactory effort that day. One of his players had collapsed during practice and died from complications of a heat stroke three days later. The coach was acquitted of reckless homicide and wanton endangerment in a trial followed by many youth athletics officials. The defense had some of the boy’s teammates testify that they did not do many more wind sprints than a normal practice. However, there were conflicting reports on whether the victim was denied a water break, in addition to some scrutiny on the time it took (20 minutes) for the coaching staff to call medical authorities (911).

The prosecution’s medical expert testified the boy would definitely have survived if he’d been immersed in an ice bath immediately after collapsing. The defense medical expert testified the boy could not have been saved no matter what treatment was given after he collapsed. However, also part of the defense’s case were medical experts who testified the boy’s death resulted from a combination of heat, existing illness and the use of the attention deficit disorder drug Adderall and the dietary supplement creatine.

The boy's mother testified he had stopped using creatine a month before he collapsed, but some of his teammates suggested he was still taking the supplement. We’ll see if this brings more scrutiny of creatine supplements. When it affects the nation’s youth, people are a bit more passionately in tune and involved in the discussion of necessary changes.