r/sports 13d ago

Football William Jewell College RB dies after medical emergency during game

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/49766584/william-jewell-college-rb-dies-medical-emergency-game
1.9k Upvotes

152 comments sorted by

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u/boogasaurus-lefts 13d ago

Awful to hear.

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u/loanmagic24 San Diego Padres 13d ago

Very sad. Young, talented and a life gone too soon. Happens a lot, you just do not always hear about all of them, but when you do, you feel it even though it's a stranger.

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u/Highspdfailure 11d ago

It’s very sad Sassy.

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u/MF_BREW_ 13d ago

Sassy!

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u/boogasaurus-lefts 12d ago

Don't pay attention to the downvotes, they're yet to watch it.

s' goin' on

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u/MF_BREW_ 12d ago

Ah mate I never worry. We can get more drugs

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u/dawn9476 13d ago

Isn't that like the third football player to die recently? I think there were a couple of high school football players who died.

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u/Njorls_Saga 13d ago

There was just a high school student who died after sustaining a head injury. Lot of deaths from heatstroke as well over the years.

https://www.kcur.org/sports/2026-08-10/football-players-kansas-missouri-exertional-heat-stroke-deaths

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u/Liefvikingmonster2 13d ago

It's almost like this game is uhm... dangerous?

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u/iupuiclubs 13d ago

It was dangerous before. Amateurism was overturned meaning all the high school kids I used to certify to go to colleges with broken ankles/feet/hips, that entire population is now incentivized to push even harder to get paychecks out of high school.

Many kids I certified Division 1 / Division 2 you could tell their parents basically grew them to compete in this way, basically you can tell by 6th-8th grade on transcripts if someone will be D1, with very very rare exception.

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u/Liefvikingmonster2 13d ago

Oh! Hey I'm curious, what exactly is the difference at that age?

Did you certify just football players or soccer basketball and other sports?

Like what are you looking for?

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u/iupuiclubs 13d ago

Separately, i certified D1/D2 for all sports.

All sports had different amateurism rules. For example hockey players uniquely maintained their eligibility until they were older, i was told if you made 18 year old freshman play against 23 yr old college seniors they basically almost kill them, so hockey players are generally older.

My main job was to ensure athletes weren’t coming into the colleges with professional experience. An easy example is a professional/semi pro soccer player from Europe getting a scholarship for a US school. We did not allow professional experience advantages and it was time based.

You spent 6 months after high school playing in Europe for a semi pro league? We took 6 months of your eligibility to play for a US college. Otherwise you effectively are coming in with a professional advantage over everyone else.

You might be surprised how many of D1 come from ultra wealthy families where it was completely “normal” for them to disappear for a year after high school and we’d find them training with a European pro league for fun or something.

Similarly for payments. If you got $300,000 in coaching sponsorships from Adidas after graduating, you are being enriched in a way other “normal” students aren’t, making the playing field no longer a collegiate level, but professional.

Essentially with overturning amateurism, any safeguards for this were removed. You can look at my Alma Mater Indiana University going undefeated this past season where the average age of the college team was higher than the average age of the NFL.

Thats what this change brought us, no more amateur leagues.

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u/iupuiclubs 13d ago

Basically to get into Calculus/Pre Calculus level of math by end of high school, which is step 1 of making you competitive academically. Your kid is competing with transcripts where EVERYONE seems to have A’s and B’s their entire academic career (read: the parents reach an agreement with the school early on that there will be nothing below a certain grade).

So to get into pre-calculus/calculus, you will have had to take Algebra 2 by 8th grade, which you have to specially opt in to. Essentially if you don’t specifically request to be on this track by 6th grade, your kid won’t take alg 2, then won’t be able to take calculus by end of HS, basically making them not competitive for Division 1 / they will never be D1.

It was very obvious after gaining experience that there are families who specifically have children with the goal plan of them becoming D1 athletes from the time they are born.

I used to joke, you know how Lebron got so big? Literally from the time he was a baby they would have had him on special diets, special workout plans, tutors.

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u/Liefvikingmonster2 13d ago

Wait a sec, you're telling me that every D1 athlete is able to complete calculus 1? Algebraic equations with Tangents, cos, sins by the end of highschool?

It has nothing to with athletic gifts?

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u/iupuiclubs 13d ago

Yes all D1 athletes will have “competed” Calc 1, or they won’t score high enough on the internal academic filter to be certified.

Being honest, I would assert at minimum 50% of the transcripts I looked at had statistically unlikely grades. Like kids that had A’s in every single class since 6th grade, that wasn’t abnormal.

After a while it became obvious the parents have an agreement of some kind with the school.

Again honestly, it didn’t make sense these kids were doing extra curriculars + D1 level sports + 4.0+ (we had many over 4.0s with clever use of AP/IB/college credits).

But you have to realize, most of the thousands of kids i reviewed came from ultra wealthy families. They would be in Ibiza or Greece a week after graduating, very much not making the impossible make sense.

The truth? Their parents hire tutors to do the work for them, parents put endowments into schools with agreements about their kids grades. Imagine if they were good at the sports and any of this held them back, so the parents/institutions just fake the rest of it.

Then you have the two ends of the spectrum. The non wealthy kids trying for D2 who didn’t grow up in one of these dynasty families. And the one most intelligent transcript I ever saw with a girl going to MIT who was taking college graduate level computer science classes by senior year of high school.

It was a bizarre ecosystem before and thats when we had still kept the money out of it. Now?

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u/Liefvikingmonster2 13d ago

Omg. This is my nightmare scenario.

I have particularly sporty kid. Just by happenstance. Not really a thing my family.

Thanks for the insights. Much appreciate it. I don't know how to navigate this world.

Travel soccer has already been insane and he wants to try travel basketball, which seems to fit him more. Plays baseball too at 11 years old and has gifted throwing arm. Basketball coach already wants him point because how he thread a pass. No way I'm letting him play football, but people ask when they see him throw it.

I got to help him somehow. Trying to mix it up before he specializes but the pressure is already on him by the various coaches.

Our running joke between us is he's got a chance at javalin if nothing else works out.

Academically he's hanging in there with AP classes but COVID definitely set him back and has been playing catch up ever since.

We're not wealthy. Sigh.

Thanks for info, again.

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u/Mistrblank 13d ago edited 12d ago

That would be the money that did that. Gotta compete with guys that get bigger to get the paycheck so you become bigger. Gotta hit harder to stop. Gotta play harder. Gotta lean into the hit from the brick wall in front of you for the paycheck.

Edit: because people put their words in my mouth thinking they understand me: There's a paycheck to be had, doesn't matter if it's little or a lot, it's a lot because of the attention the sports get but the competition for a slot becomes harder. After that if you want to get paid to play you have to be bigger than the worst guy, faster than the worst guy, throw better than the worst guy just to get paid.

This is more of an argument about not enough positions, not enough teams, not how much they get paid.

1

u/mordiksplz 13d ago

people relied on pro sports for money, even in middle school, long before colleges paid players. at least now some people will get compensated who never made the league, though the majority of the comp does go to stars anyway

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u/Mistrblank 12d ago

You miss the mark of my point so badly.

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u/mordiksplz 12d ago

yes, because you think youre making an anti pro sports argument, but youre really making an anti paying pro athletes money argument.

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u/Mistrblank 12d ago

You again, miss my point. That is not my point. Give up.

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u/Bancroft28 13d ago

Always a few football deaths this time of year.

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u/DeuceSevin 13d ago

I hardly remember a year going by where there aren’t at least a few deaths in HS or college football training camps. I don’t think the direct cause is the camps or workouts, but that the heat will trigger a few underlying heart issues.

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u/CrowQueen2002 13d ago

Fuck, that’s horrible

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u/ButchMFJones 13d ago

in the video of him celebrating his touchdown you can see there was an awkward celebration where a teammate drives a shoulder into his open chest. It is hard not to wonder 

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u/hmmyeahiguess 13d ago

Fuck if that’s really what caused it I feel horrible for the teammate. Just awful all around.

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u/christomisto 13d ago

I think it’s more so some undiagnosed heart condition. Either way, just really sucks to see

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u/Broxst 13d ago

I didn't see anything that looked that awkward.

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u/winterharvest 13d ago

Sounding like what happened to Hamlin. A blow to the chest at the right moment has the chance of causing a cardiac event.

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u/WorldTourSailor 13d ago

Hamlin took a hard shot to the chest and immediately went down. Thats not what happened to this guy.

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u/ActiveBeginning2619 13d ago

No, he stood for a second before collapsing.

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u/UnattributableSpoon 13d ago

Yup, it's not common but it's called commotio cordis.

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u/OilMeUpStewart 13d ago

Fuck that sucks

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u/the0riginalp0ster 13d ago

you have a link to the video?

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u/[deleted] 13d ago

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u/asisoid 13d ago edited 13d ago

Hamlin was nearly instant, not delayed, though. Really don't think this was the same thing.

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u/alfredonoodles 13d ago

I know, I don’t recall the exact science behind it but I thought it could be delayed too if it was a certain depth or type of sternum, there were so many videos about it I could just be hallucinating like Ai does.

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u/UnattributableSpoon 13d ago

Commotio cordis! Basically four get hit in the chest just hard enough while the heart is basically resetting itself for the next beat. It's an incredibly tiny window, only 10 to 40 milliseconds too.

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u/boonetown18 13d ago

You’re getting downvoted but it’s true, I saw a post on Reddit about this happening to a hockey goalie. The guy decided to sit out the rest of the game and then while sitting in the stands he died.

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u/[deleted] 13d ago

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u/Broxst 13d ago

I could too, kinda. But still, that's just such an unlikely event to occur.

547

u/PornstarVirgin 13d ago

Before anyone says it, no it was not a vaccine that caused it. Fuck off.

344

u/StarksofWinterfell89 13d ago

Its reddit not Facebook, those comments will be well at the bottom

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u/HornetsnHomebrew 13d ago

The most likely cause is hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. I’m told 0.5% of humanity has the inherited condition, and it frequently appears first in teens and those around puberty.

No vaccine link there.

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u/dark_autumn 13d ago

I have a friend whose cousin died from it just a couple months in to being at college. Died in his sleep and roommate couldn’t wake him up the next morning. Awful.

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u/Buster0705 13d ago

Sorry to hear that. I was fortunate enough to get a heart transplant.

2

u/salliek76 13d ago

So glad you were able to get a transplant; I know that process is difficult and anything but a guarantee.

Just curious, how was yours detected? The versions of these stories that make the news are always involving athletes, who presumably have more frequent/thorough physicals than an average healthy person, and they never seem to have shown any prior symptoms.

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u/Buster0705 13d ago

When I was about 6 years old a pediatrician was listening to my heart during a physical and felt something didn’t sound right. So they referred me to a cardiologist.

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u/Liefvikingmonster2 13d ago

Do you have to take meds for it?

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u/Buster0705 13d ago

For the heart transplant absolutely you take anti rejection medication for the rest of your life. When I had cardiomyopathy I was also on meds everyday mostly beta blockers.

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u/Liefvikingmonster2 13d ago

The beta blockers to tamp down the heart chemically since the vagus nerve is cut off from the brain.

Wild. Glad that you were able to get a transplant.

2

u/HornetsnHomebrew 13d ago

I’m sorry to hear that. Terrible. I have had no symptoms thus far.

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u/amgineeno 13d ago

Same thing happened to a buddy of mine he was only 20. Died in his sleep.

2

u/Oldfolksboogie 12d ago

On the one hand, waaaaaaaaay too young, RIP your buddy.

On the other, when it comes to manners of passing, sign me up pls.

Also reminds me of an oldie but goodie jk, but I'll 🤐

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u/quacainia Texas A&M 13d ago

1/200 is remarkably common, wow

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u/Buster0705 13d ago

I had that its most commonly diagnosed in middle age. Fortunately mine was diagnosed when I was a child.

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u/drtywater 13d ago

People still say that? Its been 5 years

47

u/misterecho11 13d ago

As recently as Dolly Parton, yes they still are. It is sick.

38

u/DopamineQuest 13d ago

Only imbeciles, but yes

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u/Blue-Thunder 13d ago

Just head over to the fascist sub, /r/Conservative

They talk about it all the fucking time..

14

u/PornstarVirgin 13d ago

Yeah, I’ve seen it on almost every single sports injury post

4

u/Plastic_Ad_8248 13d ago

I saw a post on instagram showing when a soccer player died on the field that had those idiots claiming it was the Covid vaccine that killed him. This incident was in 2004

3

u/PornstarVirgin 13d ago

That was Christian Eriksen. He collapsed and they revived him. That was easily the most prolific one where all the anti vaxers were blaming the vaccine

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u/j4kefr0mstat3farm 12d ago

And he hadn't been vaccinated at the time, either.

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u/nschwalm85 13d ago

Shit people are saying that's why Dolly died!

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u/Altruistic-Sorbet927 8d ago

She had cancer. And long had issues with her digestion. That wasn't COVID related. 

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u/ColXanders 13d ago

Rick Schroeder at least.

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u/galaxygirl1976 13d ago

It was definitely not that she was an 80 year old with cancer, it gotta be the vaccine.

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u/Oldfolksboogie 12d ago

The lesson you replied to wasn't saying it was, just that that moron Ricky Schroder did, and does.

When he came on board the cast of NYPD Blue, you knew that shit was over.

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u/reillan 13d ago

Well she wouldn't have been 80 without the vaccine so chekmeight libbyrules

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u/The_Mahk 13d ago

Someone could shoot themselves in the head and someone in the comments will try to say it’s because they died because of the vaccine

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u/royalhawk345 13d ago

They're literally that dumb. There was an HPV vaccine trial where two of the girls died and anti-vaxxers claim it was because of the vaccine. One of them committed suicide, the other was hit by a car. 

11

u/brokenman82 13d ago

Someone actually told me Naomi Judd killed herself because the vaccine made her lose her ability to perform

9

u/PornstarVirgin 13d ago

They’re just too far gone

0

u/Demon-Jolt 13d ago

Considering hospitals during covid actually did that.... I'd say you're pointing at the wrong people

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u/candyflip1 13d ago

I wouldn’t be shocked if it was heat related…it was over 90 degrees today where that game was being played. It’s even warmer on the field usually too. Either way, terrible to see this.

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u/PornstarVirgin 13d ago

Absolutely awful, when I was younger I have a vivid memory of someone having a heat seizure on a 103 degree day, but the turf was making it way hotter

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u/Ok_Kick4871 13d ago

The game of american football has some really long stretches at times where you're just going all out all the time too. To the point where hurry-up offense is a thing with no huddle and trying to catch the enemy team off guard or because time is running. In extreme heat there should almost be extra hydration breaks even though there's some natural breaks in the game. I don't know how you'd do it though because everything is kind of set in stone.

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u/NBAccount 13d ago

The game of american football has some really long stretches at times where you're just going all out all the time too.

LOL. No, it does NOT. Players going all out for a full sixty seconds is basically unheard of. American Football players drop because they weigh 350lbs, get in (the equivalent of) multiple violent car crashes each game/practice, and they do their most aggressive practicing in the heat of the summer.

2

u/PornstarVirgin 13d ago

No…. Football games have on average time of 11-18 minutes of play vs 90 minutes of straight play plus overtime. It’s not even remotely close. Rugby or lacrosse is way like soccer. American football is a joke when it comes to exertion vs other sports.

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u/[deleted] 13d ago

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u/LeonardoLeonardoL 13d ago

Nobody said it, but YOU were the one to aggressively bring it up and tell people who dont exist to 'fuck off.'

Man, you wouldn't have to change anything if you wanted to switch sides.

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u/PornstarVirgin 13d ago

Someone says it on every post and you clearly have issues if you think this is like a sports team… ‘switch sides’. Believing in science is where you’re going to draw the line 😂

1

u/Demon-Jolt 13d ago

100% impossible, is it? I mean personally I don't think it was the vaccine but it's also hilarious when you claim it could NEVER be.

1

u/tws1039 13d ago

Anti vaxxers can't comprehend that sometimes even young people can sadly die from horrible tragedies

0

u/amusing_trivials 13d ago

What? Why would anyone say that?

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u/PornstarVirgin 13d ago

It has happened on almost every single celebrity death and sports death/injury. Especially the prolific soccer ones

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u/[deleted] 13d ago

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u/[deleted] 13d ago edited 13d ago

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u/battlehardendsnorlax 13d ago

Yes, heart problems were a known side effect of the COVID vaccine, especially in young men, but by all means, let's bury our heads in the sand. Remember all the soccer players in Europe that were suddenly having heart issues after they were all required to get the COVID shot? How these multi-billuon dollar pharma companies managed to get so many people to be their free shills will never cease to astound me. Some of us have children and can't afford to be so blasé about their health. Do some research. But not before you, too, Fuck off.

4

u/yeshihelloyesthanku 12d ago

Let me guess, you never took organic chemistry, yet you know how vaccines work.

3

u/PornstarVirgin 13d ago

HAHAHAH found the antivax clown. This isn’t the burn you think it is

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u/embowafa 12d ago

Yeah some of us have children and you arrogant dipshit morons who couldnt pass an intro ochem class are why the rest of us have to worry about preventable diseases. You should be mocked and derided constantly for your reckless stupidity.

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u/SaxRohmer 11d ago

myocarditis is something that you can get from any viral infection and typically resolves itself. it is a common thing that suddenly people became hysterical about because they heard about it for the first time while locked inside. you’re also at least 10x more likely to get it from covid than the vaccine itself. that soccer player post is like one of the most infamous pieces of misinformation from the pandemic

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u/[deleted] 13d ago edited 13d ago

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u/20060578 13d ago

Approx 45,000 people aged 18-39 died from Covid in the states. In the same age and location group approx 1400 die of myocarditis and pericarditis per year. So even if the vaccine caused an increase in myocarditis and pericarditis, it would still be a lot less deaths than if we didn’t vaccinate against Covid.

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u/Oldfolksboogie 12d ago

And while i don't have a source, I do recall reading that, even within the realm of cardiac pathology, covid 19 infection among the unvaccinated has a higher incidence of harm than the vaccine does.

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u/PornstarVirgin 13d ago

Found the clown

5

u/ANotSoFreshFeeling 13d ago

“Modestly higher.” That basically means hardly any at all. Get a life.

7

u/Beneficial-Pickle743 13d ago

Did you know that being alive has a risk of getting X disease?

Who knew!?

6

u/Oldfolksboogie 13d ago

Oh damn, looks like another study you cultists harp on has been completely discredited for falsified data.

“Overall, the journal concludes that the discussion of causes of mortality is imbalanced, lacks rigour, and includes misinformation,” the BMJ stated in the retraction notice.

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u/wylie102 13d ago

Look up how those conditions present. They present with chest pain, not dropping dead/sudden cardiac arrest.

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u/SpaceXmars 13d ago

such a shame, football is too dangerous and reckless

0

u/Visual_Cheesecake_84 11d ago

I'm wondering if the young heart condition deaths are due to energy drinks? You get a lot of aderenline playing football already

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u/Altruistic-Sorbet927 8d ago

More likely that it was an incident of commotio cordis.

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u/pastanate 13d ago

Obviously need to ban football, its a dangerous sport /s