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NFL briefs

Compiled from Times wires

© St. Petersburg Times,
published August 3, 2001

Physician: no saving Stringer

MANKATO, Minn. -- Subdued and somber, the Vikings returned to the practice field Thursday and attempted to work through their grief over the death early Wednesday of teammate Korey Stringer.

The team practiced for about two hours Thursday morning at Minnesota State University, where the weather was pleasant and the temperature in the low 80s. Players were dressed in shorts, jerseys and helmets, not the full pads worn during Tuesday morning's practice when Stringer suffered a heatstroke.

The organization, normally one of the least accessible in the NFL, maintained a shroud of secrecy surrounding the circumstances of Stringer's death and coach Dennis Green became visibly angry when pressed on the matter. But David Knowles, a Mankato physician who has served as the Vikings' training camp doctor for the past 32 years, provided a detailed account of a desperate, 13-hour battle by a medical team to save Stringer's life.

Knowles also said that he has thought of nothing that could have prevented the death of the 27-year-old Pro Bowl offensive tackle.

"This is the first time I've seen this in 32 years with the Vikings and that includes the days when we didn't have water on the field," he said. "I don't know that there's anything we could have done differently. I wish there was."

Camp opened Monday and after two practices that day Knowles said Stringer "had heat cramps, but so did other players." He said Stringer displayed no "special symptoms."

Knowles said that when he made a routine visit to camp before Tuesday morning's practice he was told that none of the players needed medical attention. The situation changed shortly after noon, when Stringer sought treatment from the training staff after a two-hour practice in stifling heat and humidity.

Stringer, 6 feet 4, 335 pounds, reportedly had vomited at least three times during the morning practice but pushed himself to complete the workout. Teammates had needled him about being unable to complete one of the Monday practices and, according to offensive line coach Mike Tice, Stringer's pride had been wounded by a picture in Tuesday's Minneapolis Star Tribune that showed him bent over in exhaustion, gasping for air.

Knowles said that paramedics who rushed Stringer to Immanuel St. Joseph's Hospital here were unable to get a blood pressure reading but did detect a pulse. When he arrived at the hospital, Stringer was unconscious and had a body temperature of 108.8 degrees, Knowles said. His heart rate was 160, about twice the normal rate, he said.

The medical team pumped fluids into his body, packed bags of ice around him and gave him an ice water enema, Knowles said. After about an hour, Stringer's temperature was reduced to 99 degrees, Knowles said, "but I think the damage had already been done."

There were other problems. "His kidneys were knocked out completely" and he was put on a dialysis machine, Knowles said. He said Stringer also developed a condition in which the blood does not clot.

"Around 11 o'clock I saw signs for optimism," Knowles said. "Then, all of a sudden, his heart started to fail."

Knowles said Stringer was given medication to stimulate his heart. But "it's like whipping a tired horse. You get so much and the heart doesn't respond anymore."

Green defended the refusal to make any of the players available for interviews. "We're in mourning," he said. "It's a private time. They deserve their privacy."

A memorial service is scheduled for the Twin Cities today, and Stringer will be buried Monday in his hometown of Warren, Ohio.

The NFL Players Association will create a trust fund for Stringer's 3-year-old son, Kodie.

Stringer's family issued a statement thanking the public for its support.

"The only thing that we ask as we embark on our future without Korey is that you understand our need for privacy," the statement said. "We just need time."

The state began investigating the death to determine whether the Vikings were negligent. The investigation is routine in a workplace fatality.

GIANTS' BARBER BREAKS HAND: Halfback Tiki Barber, the offensive catalyst for New York, broke his left hand in practice and probably will miss the preseason. "The main thing for me is I want to be ready for Monday night when we play Denver," Barber said of the opener Sept. 10.

STORM AT TROP: Because of concerts scheduled inside the Tampa's Ice Palace tonight and Saturday, and because the weather is expected to keep the team from practicing outdoors, the Storm will work out from 12:45-2 p.m. today at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg.

Practice is open to the public.

When the Trop was called the Suncoast Dome and the Thunderdome, and its only team was the Storm, it hosted the first six seasons of Tampa Bay's Arena League play.

The Storm will set up cones to approximate the 50-yard AFL field in centerfield at the dome, now the home of the Rays.

- Staff writer John C. Cotey contributed to this report.

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