Dr. Charles Harrison, the Atlanta Falcons’ team...
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Dr. Charles Harrison, the Atlanta Falcons’ team physician, said that Wilson Faumuina, who died of heart failure Sept. 26, was treated for irregular heart rhythm while still playing with the team in 1982.
Faumuina’s brother, Jim, has charged that the Falcons should not have allowed the defensive end to play with a heart problem.
Shortly after Faumuina’s death, team owner Rankin Smith Sr. said he doubted team officials were aware of any problems with the player’s heart because “no one wants the liability of a guy who has a heart problem on the team.”
But Harrison said a physical examination at the Falcons’ mini-camp in 1982 turned up Faumuina’s irregular heartbeat.
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