Morgan State Football Player Dies 2 Weeks After Collapsing At Practice

BALTIMORE (WJZ)-- A promising young football player dies two weeks after falling ill on the practice field. Now an autopsy reveals the Morgan State freshman passed away from complications from heatstroke. Now his family is speaking out about what happened.

Meghan McCorkell has more on this tragedy.

The family of Marquese Meadow say they still have questions about what led up to his death.

Hard hits earned Meadow a football scholarship to Morgan State but the 18-year-old will never take the field again. Two weeks ago, he was rushed to the hospital after becoming disoriented during practice. On Saturday, he died from complications due to heatstroke.

"He just touched so many loves. Everybody loves Marquese," said his mother, Benita Meadow.

Now she wants answers about how her son---who she says was perfectly healthy---wound up with heatstroke. On the day that Meadow fell ill on the practice field, the temperature in Baltimore was 86 degrees.

"I didn't know people could die from heat stroke," said one person.

"It wasn't that hot. It hasn't been that hot," said another.

Teammates thought Meadow was getting better.

"We were shocked because the doctors and the trainers informed us that he was getting well, that his organs were getting back," said teammate Taquon Jackson.

But Dr. Louis Kovacs at Medstar Union Memorial says the damage heatstroke causes can happen slowly.

"The toxins that build up in the blood from liver damage to kidney damage from your body's inability to heal itself because nothing is working right, that's what it takes," Kovacs said. "It can take a long time."

Now all Benita Meadow has left are memories of her son.

"He never gave up. Never gave up, wanted to push and to help somebody else get where he was," she said.

And she won't give up until she gets answers about what happened.

Officials at Morgan State say team trainers followed protocol in treating Meadow and did everything they could to help him.

Meadow is the second Maryland college football player to die before this season starts. Navy football player Will McKamey died from a brain injury back in March.

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