What to Know
- A high school football player in upstate New York died of unknown causes after the first day of practice, authorities said.
- Miguel Lugo, 17, a varsity football player at Wallkill High School in Ulster County, suffered a medical emergency following practice Monday, the Wallkill Central School District said in a statement. He was taken to a hospital, where he died.
- No cause of death has been determined.
A high school football player in upstate New York died of unknown causes after the first day of practice, authorities said.
Miguel Lugo, 17, a varsity football player at Wallkill High School in Ulster County, suffered a medical emergency following practice Monday, the Wallkill Central School District said in a statement. He was taken to a hospital, where he died.
No cause of death has been determined. A call to the Ulster County medical examiner’s office was not returned Wednesday morning.
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A GoFundMe page seeking help with funeral expenses had raised nearly $24,960 as of Wednesday, exceeding the goal of $10,000.
“My 17 year old nephew, Miguel Antonio Lugo, tragically passed suddenly on Monday evening at football practice,” the teen’s aunt, Angela Morales, wrote on the GoFundMe page. “He was a vibrant and healthy boy who lit up any room that he walked in. Now his family is left here to wonder why. Why Miguel. He had a heart of gold and anyone who knew him loved him dearly.”
The Wallkill district said school counselors would be available for the community, the Journal News reported.
News
Under COVID-19 protocols, Monday was the first day athletes could practice for “Fall II” sports including football.
David Coates, football chairperson for Section 9 of the The New York State Public High School Athletic Association, said he wanted to assure parents that football is safe.
“There’s an inherent risk that you take with playing any sport … I don’t know if that’s going to go away,” Coates told the newspaper. “But sports and football, we take every precaution necessary to be as safe as possible. I know that sports are safe.’’
