A 19-year-old University of Central Florida football player who collapsed and died after a conditioning workout in March carried an inherited gene that has been tied to the deaths of 10 young athletes since 2000, according to autopsy results released Thursday.
Ereck Plancher, a redshirt freshman wide receiver from Naples, Fla., died March 18 following a 20-minute training session on the Orlando campus. The university was aware Plancher carried the sickle cell trait -- a condition that less than a year ago prompted the National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA) to issue a warning and recommendations for dealing with athletes who possess the trait.
UCF had screened Plancher for the sickle cell trait twice in 2007, and both results indicated he had it, according to medical records obtained by ESPN and explained by a person familiar with his death. UCF spokesman Grant Heston confirmed the school's football coaches and trainers were aware of Plancher's condition, which did not preclude him from playing or practicing.
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