Teenage Players Had Heart Defects

Heart problems--and not excessive heat--led to the deaths last week of two teenage football players, according to autopsy results released Monday.

Both 14-year-old Leonard Carter II of Houston, and 13-year-old Jamarious Derez Bennett of Shady Dale, Ga., were found to have had congenital heart defects that had gone undetected.

Autopsy results are pending on 15-year-old Steven Taylor, who died Friday after returning home from morning practice at Luling High in Central Texas.

Carter, who collapsed Saturday during a Lamar High scrimmage and could not be revived despite nearly two hours of CPR, was found to have an enlarged heart. Although the “heat index,” a combination of temperature and humidity, soared to 100 degrees, the conditions played a “minimal role” in his death, said Joye M. Carter, chief medical examiner of Harris County.

A report in Sunday’s Houston Chronicle said the player’s father, Leonard Carter, had been told his son had a 107-degree temperature when he reached the hospital. But the medical examiner clarified that Monday, saying the player’s temperature was 100.7.

Bennett, the youngest victim in a nationwide trail of football-related tragedies, suffered from a scarred, defective left coronary artery, which supplies blood to the heart, said Kris Sperry, the chief medical examiner of Jasper County. The opening of the teen’s artery was in the wrong place and was nearly closed. Routine physical exams cannot detect that defect, which occurs in about one of every 5,000 people, he said.

“It makes it a little bit easier for us, because we just wanted to find out what really happened to him,” said his father, Patrick Bennett. “I’m just hoping he wasn’t in no pain when he died. [The coaches and medical personnel] did all they could do for him. There was only so much a person could do.”

Meanwhile, in Houston, Leonard Carter was trying to come to terms with the loss of his son, a 5-foot-6, 162-pound junior varsity running back his friends called “Little Leonard.”

“I lost my wife to breast cancer four years ago, and it’s been just me and him,” his father said. “We had breakfast, then I dropped him off at about 8:30 or 9. About 11, I got a call and they told me to come get him. He was on the football field, collapsed. He fell out. I asked was he breathing, and there was some hesitation there. The person on the phone said, ‘He’s breathing a little.’

“I was in shock. I ran next door, two doors down. I knocked on everyone’s door. I never made it to the field. I met the ambulance at the hospital, because I was in transit to the field and I received a call on my cell phone that they were transporting him to Texas Children’s [Hospital].”

There, Leonard II was pronounced dead just before 1p.m.

He was supposed to have begun his sophomore year at Lamar on Monday, having transferred from Westside after completing his freshman year. Students put flowers and teddy bears at the spot he lost consciousness, and honored him with a moment of silence Monday. The American and Texas flags in front of the school were at half-staff, and 13 grief counselors were at the ready. Football practice was scrubbed, no doubt a welcome reprieve as the temperatures climbed into the high 90s.

Principal James McSwain declined comment Monday, and did not make the coaches available to reporters. Also unavailable was Kaye Stripling, superintendent of the Houston Independent School District.

“The principal of Lamar High School is making sure right now that his students and staff are being taken care of, mentally. That’s first and foremost in his mind,” school-district spokeswoman Heather L. Browne said. “When the autopsy results come back, and he feels he is in more of a position to speak to the public about the incident, then we will make the necessary accommodations.”

Young Carter collapsed during an intrasquad scrimmage that coincided with an annual football barbecue, so there were more than 100 people watching in the stands. He had just torn off two long runs, said his father, who was not in attendance but has pieced together an account from friends of his son.

Coaches told district officials the player never complained of feeling ill, and had ample opportunity to drink water. In fact, each player carries his own squeeze bottle during practice.

According to district officials, Leonard lost consciousness in the huddle around 11:15 a.m., half an hour into the scrimmage. An assistant coach found him unresponsive and not breathing, and began CPR. At the same time, Coach Tom Nolan used a cell phone to call 911.

“The assistant coach continued to administer CPR until the ambulance arrived, which was about four minutes later,” Browne said.

Kameshia Richardson, 17, a Lamar senior, said paramedics used CPR and a defibrillator on Leonard, as the crowd watched in horror.

“This one man was crying,” she said. “It’s a shocking thing. That could have been anybody on the field.”

One coach ran to the stands in search of a doctor. He found two nurses, who assisted in the CPR. Tearful players prayed with the rest of the crowd.

After half an hour, Leonard was taken to the hospital. Nolan directed his players to the locker room, and the scrimmage was canceled.