On the Sideline : Talented Athletes, the Copeland Brothers Try to Cope With Not Competing Because of Family Heart Disease

Kyle Copeland sits in the bleachers at all Dorsey High football games and wonders if he took part in the action, would it cost him his life?

Although Copeland, 16, longs for the opportunity to show off his athletic ability, his mother, doctor and school officials have denied him the chance. A family history of undetected heart disease is the reason, but he says he is willing to take the gamble.

“If I had my way, I’d play sports,” said Copeland, a junior. “I love sports and it’s what I want to do.”

Kyle Copeland’s budding athletic career came to an abrupt halt two years ago after the unexpected death of his older brother, Kevin. The 17-year-old star wide receiver for Dorsey suffered a fatal heart attack during a game against San Pedro High on Oct. 6, 1989. He collapsed on the sideline in the first quarter and was pronounced dead an hour later.

Kyle witnessed the entire incident and was with Kevin until the end. Not even that, however, has changed his desire to play football.

“I was working as a ball boy the night Kevin died,” Kyle said. “I was at the hospital and I went crazy at the time. I miss my brother. But I still want to play. I know Kevin would do the same.”

Kevin Copeland was not the first family member to have his life cut short. Kevin’s father, Ron Copeland Sr., died of a heart attack while running an impromptu 60-yard dash at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut in 1975. He was 28. A week earlier, Ron’s father, Harold Copeland, had died of heart disease.

Ron and Kevin both appeared to be healthy when they died.

Kevin had passed a physical examination that summer and was among the most-recruited players in the Southland. The previous spring, he was a member of Dorsey’s State championship 400-meter relay team.

Ron was an honored athlete who competed in track and football at UCLA, winning the NCAA championship in the 120-yard high hurdles in 1966. He was a split end with the Chicago Bears in 1969. When he died, Ron was coaching track at Mt. San Antonio College.

Although Kyle did not get a chance to know his father, he built close bonds with brothers Kevin and Ron Jr.

Ron Jr., 21, followed in his father’s footsteps as a standout hurdler. While at Dorsey, he finished second in the State in the 110-meter high hurdles in his junior year. A stress fracture kept him out of competition for most of his senior season, but he still received a full scholarship to USC. Despite a pulled hamstring that nagged him for most of his freshman year at USC, he ran in eight races and finished second in the high hurdles in a dual meet against UCLA.

Kevin’s death not only cut short Kyle’s athletic career, it cost Ron Jr. his spot on the track team, as well. USC officials hired a cardiologist, who recommended to Athletic Director Mike McGee that Ron Jr. be kept off the team. McGee agreed and refused to clear him for competition. He has been able to keep his scholarship by working as a track team manager.

“Kyle and I both have had extensive (heart) tests to make sure we’re in no danger,” Ron Jr. said. “The only tests I haven’t had are the ones that could harm me. The results always say everything appears to be fine. But then again, the doctors couldn’t find anything wrong with my father or Kevin.”

Millicent Copeland wants her sons alive and healthy, even if it means keeping them out of sports. Ron Jr. and Kyle say the matter is not open to discussion and that their mother simply wants to put the whole issue behind her.

Despite her stance, the Copeland brothers have not cut out all athletic activity. Ron Jr. works out on the USC track every morning and is talking about resuming competition this spring as an unattached runner.

“I think, at this point, my mother is tired of fighting me,” Ron Jr. said. “She knows that it will be increasingly harder for her to make my decisions.

“For two years, I’ve had a lot of things to think about. It has not been an easy time. But I’ve weighed my options and decided that running the hurdles is important to me. Since you never know when you might die, it’s important to do the things that mean the most to you.”

Kyle still is not sure what the most important things in his life are. His time at Dorsey has been spent studying and finding interests other than athletics. He has tried to offer support to his mother while developing his own identity.

At 5 feet 11 and 165 pounds, Kyle is similar in size to what Kevin was in high school. Dorsey football Coach Paul Knox said there is no doubt Kyle has all the tools to be a talented athlete.

“(Millicent) had a tough call to make,” Knox said. “I don’t know what I’d do in the same situation. Some things are more important than athletics. But on the other hand, you have a young man who is gifted and has a desire to play.”

Kyle played soccer in elementary school but shifted his attention to basketball in the sixth grade. He joined a traveling team the next year. When he was in junior high, Kyle began playing football in a Pop Warner League in Baldwin Hills. He played wide receiver and defensive back, and said he always scored a touchdown.

His second season in Pop Warner football ended when Kevin died. Kyle also had to quit the basketball traveling team.

Although he knew he would not get away with it, Kyle practiced with the Dorsey B football team for 1 1/2 weeks last summer. When word got back to the administration, he quietly left the team.

“I never told my mother because she would not have allowed it,” Kyle said. “I just wanted to be a part of the team.”

Kyle, described by Knox as an outgoing student with a sense of humor, plays an occasional game of pickup basketball with the neighborhood kids. But his physical activity is limited. He says he is uncertain about the future but hopes to attend college and then consider resuming sports.

To fill the immediate void, Kyle has worked as a manager for the football team the past two years. He handles all of the equipment and arranges the videotaping of the games.

Once the game begins, Kyle finds his friends in the bleachers and cheers for Dorsey.

And he dreams of catching a pass for a touchdown.