A 14-year-old Alabama high school football player has tragically died suddenly after collapsing during practice due to an apparent “medical emergency.”
Semaj Wilkins, a freshman and varsity football player at New Brockton High School dropped dead on Tuesday afternoon.
He collapsed unexpectedly on the field during a routine practice.
According to Coffee County Coroner Arnold Woodham, Wilkins was participating in drills when he suffered a medical emergency.
Despite immediate medical attention and transport to Medical Center Enterprise, the young teenager was unresponsive.
He was pronounced dead by doctors shortly after, WSAZ3 reported.
“While additional details will be released later, I am asking the community to continue to be in prayer for his family, his teammates, his coaches, and all affected by the tragic loss of Mr. Wilkins,” Woodham said.
Today reported that the incident happened around 4:30 p.m. while the team was going through warmups.
“It’s dealt a real blow to this small community,” Woodham told the outlet.
“I’ve been here all my life and this is the first time I’ve seen or heard of anything like this occurring here.”
In a statement on Thursday, Coffee County Schools Superintendent Kelly Cobb wrote:
“Semaj was a young man who brought joy