Athlete Dies of a Lung Hemorrhage

Football player Rodney Stowers of Mississippi State, who was expected to be sidelined only a matter of weeks because of a broken leg, died suddenly Thursday of what doctors said was lung hemorrhaging associated with the injury.

Stowers, 20, a junior who started at nose tackle, died at Golden Triangle Medical Center in Columbus, Miss. A Mississippi State spokesman said that Stowers was admitted to the hospital Sunday so doctors could put a pin in the leg to speed healing of a fracture of his right tibia.

Stowers was injured Saturday in the Bulldogs’ 29-7 loss to Florida.

Coach Jackie Sherrill had said he hoped Stowers could return to the lineup in four to six weeks.

Doctors said it appeared that fatty droplets--tiny particles of fat from the area of the long bone fracture--got into the athlete’s bloodstream and passed through the heart to his lungs. The droplets triggered immune mechanisms in the lungs, filling the lungs with fluid and blocking the ability to take in oxygen, doctors said. Hemorrhaging occurred and doctors were unable to save him.