The increasing number of cardiac arrests among athletes is a very concerning issue around the world. NFL star Damar Hamlin recently collapsed on the field a few weeks ago and this triggered discussions around the world that stressed the need for better action from the leagues to take care of its players. Recently, a young basketball sensation from South Carolina survived a major scare while playing a game for his high school team.
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Kamari Williams plays for the Southside Christian School and is currently in the eighth grade. The talented youngster recently collapsed during his game and had to be given medical support.
Young basketball prodigy suffers cardiac arrest on court
Potential future basketball star Kamari Williams was playing for his school on the 31st of January. During his game, he bumped into another player which caused a major scare. Williams suffered a cardiac arrest and then a seizure following his collision mid-game, according to news sources. Thankfully, Chris Young, the school trainer was on his toes and saved the day.
Young performed CPR on the youngster for about 10 minutes before initial medical attention. Thanks to Young’s quick thinking, he potentially saved the life of Kamari Williams. Talking about this horrific incident, Williams’ mother talked about how it shares a resemblance to the Damar Hamlin situation.
According to the latest updates, Williams spent the night in a hospital and is receiving the necessary treatments. Despite the scare, he is quite stable and his vitals are good.
“Kamari spent the night in the hospital and is receiving treatment,” the Greenville-area school wrote on Feb. 1 in a Facebook post. “We are praising God for his life and the staff involved in the emergency.”
The NBA was criticized for its negligence in addressing cardiac arrests
The NBA has been under fire in the past for similar incidents. The death of G League player Zeke Upshaw shook the basketball world to the core. During a game between the Grand Rapids Drive and the Long Island Nets, Upshaw collapsed on the court. He passed away two days later which started major discussions about the players’ well-being across the world.
Upshaw’s mother blamed the NBA, the team, and also the Detroit Pistons for the loss of her son. She accused them of negligence while dealing with sudden cardiac arrests among a host of other allegations.
Basketball stars are more likely to suffer from cardiac arrests than a normal person according to a 2014 report by Columbia University. It needs to be mentioned that the league has made some efforts in combating the problem. The league in association with the National Basketball Players Association afterwards devised a method to tackle sudden cardiac arrests.
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Do you think the league is working enough to tackle cardiac arrests? Let us know in the comments below.
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Edited by
Satagni Sikder