‘My Son Did Not Have to Die’

Four days after the death of Northwestern football player Rashidi Wheeler, a troubling portrait of his final minutes has emerged, a chaotic scene in which a small staff of trainers--with no coaches in attendance--scrambled to treat at least four players who collapsed during a strenuous drill.

Details were provided by teammates and the player’s mother, Linda Will, on Tuesday as the university held a memorial service for Wheeler, who developed breathing problems during last week’s conditioning test and died after an asthma attack.

Will had raised questions about football training but had been reluctant to blame the university. Now, after hearing accounts from players, she said she will hire an attorney.

“My son did not have to die,” she said in a series of alternately sobbing and angry interviews from her hotel room before the service.

“Don’t make it seem to the public like Rashidi just had an asthma attack and they did everything they could do,” she said. “There was not proper staffing out there.”

Northwestern administrators had little to say about the incident other than to reiterate their intention to have an on-campus committee review the team’s practice procedures.

“This is a day when we are honoring the life of one of our students,” said Alan Cubbage, a university spokesman. “Our attentions have been focused on the family rather than that review.”

Wheeler’s family was expected to accompany his body back to Southern California. A funeral for the 22-year-old athlete, a three-sport letterman at La Verne Damien High, has been rescheduled for 1 p.m. Monday at First Baptist Church in Pomona.

Will and her ex-husband, George Wheeler, have enlisted the help of the Rev. Jesse Jackson in calling for an investigation after what Will characterized as a series of “disheartening” disclosures about her son’s death.

Friday, players were asked to run 28 sprints ranging in length from 40 to 100 yards. Because the session was held before the team officially is allowed to start training camp, NCAA rules prohibited coaches from attending. Administrators said six trainers, and possibly two strength coaches, were on the field.

With several sprints remaining, at least four players--including Wheeler, cornerback Raheem Covington, receiver Jason Wright and running back Kevin Lawrence--fell to the ground. Wright said he temporarily lost consciousness.

According to three team members who spoke to The Times, the staff appeared to be caught off guard, rushing from one fallen player to another. Trainer Tory Aggeler helped Wheeler off the field and watched him use his inhaler, then left to treat Lawrence, who appeared to be in worse shape. An assistant reportedly stayed with Wheeler.

Trainers were aware of Wheeler’s asthma, something he had played with throughout his career. They were confident enough about his condition that they hesitated to call for medical help, said Chasda Martin, a cornerback who stood nearby. But, at some point, Wheeler stopped breathing.

“Once they actually called, Rashidi was in bad shape,” Martin said. “It was about 10 minutes after they called that the ambulance showed up. But those were 10 minutes of critical time for my man. He was dying.”

Teammates expected help sooner. “It was something we were all wondering about,” Wright said.

Administrators declined to comment on the sequence of Friday’s events. According to reports, paramedics arrived from 30 to 40 minutes after Wheeler collapsed. He was pronounced dead at Evanston Hospital about an hour later.

His mother said she is left wondering why such a rigorous drill was held when coaches could not attend. She also wondered why no portable oxygen tanks or other breathing equipment was available, especially because her son was among 10 asthmatics on the roster.

Administrators said they are waiting for a medical examiner’s report that will not be released for at least 10 weeks.

“A lot of people want answers and they want them now,” said Mike Wolf, an assistant athletic director. “We understand that, but we have no choice but to wait.”

Tuesday, mourners packed the 500-seat Alice S. Millar Religious Center on campus for a 90-minute service. Several of Wheeler’s poems were read. Teammates spoke, as did Coach Randy Walker. He shook Jackson’s hand upon entering the chapel.

“My whole life, I wanted to coach football because I’m a hero worshiper,” said Walker, known as a physically demanding coach.

“I lost one of my heroes,” he continued, facing the family. “One of my heroes is gone, but he’ll never be forgotten. I thank God every day for these young people, for this chance. I thank God for Rashidi Wheeler.”

Jackson began his sermon by requesting a standing ovation for Wheeler, applause reverberating for more then five minutes through the chapel. Northwestern players, tears rolling down their cheeks, refused to stop clapping.

“We plan life as if it’s a given,” Jackson said. “But it doesn’t come in hunks. It comes in seconds. Each inhalation matters. Each exhalation matters.”

Afterward, the reverend sounded a conciliatory note between the university and Wheeler’s family.

“We’re not turning innuendo into finger-pointing,” he said. “The family is grieving, but curious. The concern is what happened in the last hour of their son’s life. Was there the infrastructure in place to handle this?”

Northwestern, he continued, “needs to be very open, not hesitant at all about answering questions. If they get into legal language every step of the way, then we’ll react.”

Will, however, sounded as if she had made up her mind. She said numerous players asked her to demand safer conditions.

“I came here for a healing process,” she said. “I didn’t realize that my son suffered so. I would have felt more comfortable about this if [the university] admitted some fault. I’m going to get legal representation. After coming here and listening to these kids, I think I need it.”

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Grieving: Curtis Jones, who collapsed and died after an indoor football league game, was popular high school coach. D6