4 years ago was the most gut-wrenching incidents I’ve ever experienced watching sports. It remains a haunting image. Keyontae’s collapse made the game of basketball seem so completely trivial, and life so precious. i remember being in a fog for days; and literally crying with joy when he released a hospital message days later. Four years later, I couldn’t be happier for his success.
Wow! That was so sad and unreal! I remember either the school and/or Johnson family posting a heartfelt thank you in newspapers to the caretakers at that game in Tally; it was genuine and heartfelt. For maybe two seconds, I was thinking the relations between our schools would improve but it hasn’t. It was a miracle Key recovered and can fulfill his dream.
Vividly remember watching that game. Gator hearts sank everywhere. So very thankful that incident was a bump in the road for him, though a very big bump in the road. Grateful for his recovery and his ability to chase his dream with his talents.
We were driving to Florida for vacation (from SC) and I started getting texts from friends about it. What a terrible, terrible day, but from what I understand FSU (Hamilton) was really classy about it. I honestly thought he wasn't going to make it- just from the talk around the game and my own pessimistic nature. So yes what a relief. So happy for Key- one of my favorite Gator b-ballers. One question- did we ever figure out what happened and why. Was it covid related?
VERY Important!!!! Keyontae collapsed from sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). It was not Covid related (The Comeback After the Collapse - The Ringer). In the US, approximately 2,000 people under 25 die from SCA each year- accounts for about 3–5% of all deaths in children aged 5–19. SCA is the leading cause of death in young athletes, accounting for 75% of all athlete-related deaths. For comparison, no kids die in Italy from sca. Why? A simple ecg read can rule out risk for kids, but in the US we simply don’t do it. For your kids, and kids you care about, get ecg reads before they play sports. To more broadly support awareness, go to WhoWePlayFor.org and see how to help.
Watching him collapse was one of the hardest things to watch I've seen. Go glad he made a full recovery and is living his dream playing in the NBA (and with his old UF teammate Tre Mann too)
