Home Scandal and Gossip Virginia high school student, 15, dies during football practise

Virginia high school student, 15, dies during football practise

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Jayvion Taylor, Hopewell High School student, 15, dies during football practise.
Jayvion Taylor, Hopewell High School student, 15, dies during football practise amid accusations the Virginia school may have failed the 10th grade student-athlete.
Jayvion Taylor, Hopewell High School student, 15, dies during football practise.
Jayvion Taylor, Hopewell High School student, 15, dies during football practise amid accusations the Virginia school may have failed the 10th grade student-athlete.

Jayvion Taylor, Hopewell High School student, 15, dies during football practise amid accusations the school may have failed the student-athlete as new questions are asked. 

A 15 year old high school football player in Virginia is being remembered as a ‘remarkable athlete’ after the teen suffering a medical episode and dying during football practice on Monday.

Sophomore, Jayvion Rafael Taylor, 15, was about 40 minutes into practice — and in the middle of light drills — when the student-athlete took a water break, only to fall to the ground just 10 ft from a coach and never regain consciousness a Hopewell High School spokesperson told CBS 6 Richmond.

A pair of coaches performed CPR and called 911, with paramedics bringing Taylor to a local hospital, where the teen athlete was pronounced dead.

What went wrong? 

‘We respect the privacy of the family during this time, but do want to share that this 15-year-old young man was considered one of the most genuine and remarkable students our staff have ever worked with,’ a statement from the school stated.

‘He was considered a ‘light’ to all who met him and left a lasting impact,’ the statement continued, adding that the entire community was mourning the boy’s loss.

His friends and teammates remembered Taylor in glowing terms, saying he was a funny, kid who always showed up for his friends.

‘He was straight positive, like one of the best guys I’ve ever know,’ teammate Orrin Besley told the station.

‘I went to the back of the field, and I saw everybody around here,’ said another teammate, Cory Seacat, who was on the field when Taylor collapsed. ‘Couldn’t get close to him. I heard it was Jay, we had to take a knee. They told us to get to the locker room. We just prayed.’

Another classmate Chase Stith told CBS, ‘I thought he still was going to make it, and fight through this, because he’s one of the strongest people I know, I thought he was going to make it through it.’

Jayvion Taylor, Hopewell High School student, 15, dies during football practise.
Jayvion Taylor, Hopewell High School student, 15, dies during football practise.

Is school to blame?

Authorities have yet to give an official cause of death, with questions whether heat may have played a part in the 15 year old athlete’s death as temperatures hovered around 88 degrees Monday afternoon, with a heat index ranging from 90 to 98 degrees, according to the Richmond Times Dispatch.

Come Tuesday, Hopewell High school was closed due to an issue with the building’s air conditioning, according to WDBJ 7.

The district is now offering grief counseling to staff and students who need it.

Some have criticized the school because it did not have an athletic trainer on the field — the last one had been let go, and the school had not replaced them yet, according to WDBJ7.

‘This is our worst nightmare,’ an un-named school employee stated. ‘I’m not saying having a trainer would have saved that young man’s life, but I feel like it would have at least definitely given us a better fighting chance.’

Adding, ‘Some people need to be held responsible.’ 

The school said in a statement that its contract for athletic training services doesn’t start until next Monday.

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