Keyontae

I know it's mostly just my impatience and want for good news, but at a loss to understand how a definitive diagnosis/prognosis can't be made in 9 months since the incidence. Especially given the medical resources that are available in Gainesville.

 

Absent some sort of special application for an additional season, which seems unlikely, doesn’t seem like he will be playing basketball again at Florida—he seems to say as much.

 

I believe there is a definitive diagnosis, but the family is not releasing it. Obvs UF cannot release it.
99.999999% likely a cardiovascular event.
Not looking hopeful he plays this season.
I'm just grateful the kid is alive, everything else is just icing on the cake.

 

Could be UF docs are saying we won't take the risk to let you play for UF. If so, Keyontae had better have some good medical evals in his pocket if he is ever going to play competitively again. I can't believe UF would deny Keyontae the opportunity to play if he passed all of his cardiac tests and there is little risk to life of the player.

 

When do practices begin? Beginning of Oct?

 

The NCAA can grant an additional medical redshirt year if the player requests it. I'm not so sure that is a sticking point though.

 

Johnson says himself in the article there isn’t.

I recall reading an interesting article back when this first happened that this does happen with somewhat alarming frequency, it’s obviously very rare but happens to at least a few young athletes every year (and it particularly effects basketball players more than other sports due to the start - stop action).

The article wasn’t connected to Johnson, I just came across it during that time. Anyway the reason for some of these athletes cardiac arrest can go “unexplained” is that it’s an “electrical” rather than structural defect. The heart just stops beating for no apparent reason. But it is effectively a cardiac arrest. If they detect a permanent rhythm issue that’s where they implant a defib, but we must guess that isn’t the case here, and as I recall from that article these cases are not always explained. I also recall there is very high risk for repeats even if they cant diagnose the issue. So it all lines up with them both not being able to “explain” it and also not able clear him to play ball. I’d imagine at some time he would be allowed to exert himself, but that they’d monitor him closely while doing it. Actually this probably already happens, they just don’t want him doing anything unmonitored.

 

well said and appreciate the insight

 

I’ve seen enough Life Alert commercials to know what a heart attack looks like. You get chest pains and then put your hand over your heart.

KJ just fainted then hit his head. Clear concussion protocol, give him some Tylenol and let’s go.

 

KJ clearly states there is no diagnosis. After 8 1/2 months I doubt Shands/Uf Health will find a problem. This is one of the top medical facility's in the southeastern United States. He very quickly can run through barrage after barrage of tests. He's a high priority patient. Then he can wait 30, 60, 90 days and repeat tests. When one is a priority to a health care facility things happen amazingly quickly.

In my opinion this is a medical issue that has already become a legal issue. Lawyers don't like it when extremely fit young men collapse horrifically on national television, for no known reason. UF has a record of not clearing people medically-when they cannot determine things conclusively.

There's a small but powerful group of people out there (at UF) who don't want KJ to play basketball again in a Gator uniform if this medical situation cannot be explained to THEIR satisfaction AND be guaranteed by a team of medical experts that this will not happen again (especially when he's on television, and God forbid National Television).

I think it will be tough to get a team of "experts" to say that. Then, when I considered who signs their paychecks, I think it will be almost impossible.

I was really glad to hear KJ's determination: "I don't know if it will be here, but I am for sure going to play basketball again."

Someone will clear him, but I don't think it coincides with KJ's timeline at UF.

 

A really good basketball player Ellis Files from my final HS (Lockport Central, originally I was from Fenger HS in Chicago which was a really bad place. We went to school on Monday to hear about who got shot over the weekend) died playing pick-up at UNLV from a cardiac issue. Stuff like this happens and it is sad.

He was a troubled kid and in spite of being a great basketball player he was expelled from Lockport Central and IIRC played his Senior year at Aurora East before going to UNLV.

 

So........pretty much we still don't know if he's going to play this season.

 

Why would they risk giving him clearance? It won’t happen! And it is unlikely that any school or professional league would chance it either.

 

It seems that "no diagnosis" means no way they are going to allow him to play. Cardiac arrest is NOT usually a one-off, meaning something dramatic happened, not his heart just decided to yawn at the wrong time.

 

If he really wanted to try and play again could he sign a waiver form with his parents signatures as we?

 

Having him sign a waiver is just admitting you think there’s something wrong that makes it unsafe for him to participate. Aside from the terrible optics if we did something like that and it happens again and the kid dies, any lawyer worth his salt would shred that waiver in court. They are rarely worth the paper they’re written on. Imo, it just helps the plaintiff prove their case that you knowingly put them in harms way.

Not happening. If he doesn’t get a clear bill of health, he isn’t playing again for uf.

 

Why wouldn't they? Same type of thing happened to me. I lost consciousness and when the paramedics arrived they found no heartbeat. Never did find out the cause. No one told me I couldn't do something because of that. I went on living my life just the same as I did before. Should be soley up to KJ. It's his life.

 

Regrettably it's in the hands of UF legal.
KJ will never play another minute of competitive basket at UF.

 

They are on notice that there is/was a potential problem. If he comes back and God forbid something happens again, irrespective of his desires and his decision, their permitting him to do so will be viewed upon as irresponsible and negligent. Love of team and school will go out the windows and verified complaints will be filed and served.