Timko says high schools not required to have physicians, athletic trainers at sports events
New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Executive Director Steve Timko said Monday he’s “heartbroken” over the sudden death of Warren Hills Regional High School quarterback Evan Murray, who died Friday night after he was injured during a varsity football game.
Morris County Medical Examiner Ronald Suarez conducted an autopsy Monday and determined Murray’s cause of death was massive internal bleeding due to a laceration of the spleen. During the examination, Suarez noted the spleen was abnormally enlarged, making it more susceptible to injury.
Suarez determined there was no evidence of head trauma or heart disease and called the manner of death accidental.
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“Our condolences go to his family and the entire Warren Hills community,” Timko said in a statement issued to NJ Advance Media.
Teammates and witnesses said Murray took more than one big hit during Friday night’s game against visiting Summit High, and added the quarterback appeared slow to get up at times. After absorbing another collision in the second quarter, Murray walked off the field with the help of teammates and soon collapsed on the sidelines.
Murray was helped to his feet and gave the crowd a thumps-up sign before he was loaded into an ambulance, witnesses said. Murray was taken from the game to Morristown Medical Center on Friday night, where he died, a spokeswoman said.
Timko said “initial reports indicated that both a physician and trainer were present on the Warren Hills sideline,” but added the NJSIAA does not require schools to have an athletic trainer, doctor or ambulance on site at athletic events. However, the NJSIAA does “recommend” schools have trainers and physicians at events.
Phone messages left for Warren Hills interim superintendent Gary Bowen and Warren Hills athletic trainer Kevin Call were not immediately returned Monday. Bowen declined to answer questions or provide details about the incident during a brief press conference with reporters Saturday outside the high school.
A person who answered the phone at the Washington Emergency Squad headquarters Monday said the group had an ambulance on stand by at the game. The person declined to provide their name.
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“As general background, 97 percent of New Jersey’s high schools have trainers on their sidelines — the highest such coverage in the nation,” Timko continued in the statement. “In addition, coaches are required to take a series of health-related courses, including those focused on basic first-aid, CPR, concussions, and heat acclimation.”
According to Warren Hills’ website, student athletes must have a current physical within 365 days of competition, and parents and athletes must sign an athletic training information acknowledgement form.
Eric Schwartz, president of the Athletic Trainers’ Society of New Jersey, said having athletic trainers on site is crucial when serious injuries occur at sports events. He added spleen injuries are rare and can be difficult to spot, with symptoms that can come on gradually.
"Somebody’s not going to come off to the sideline and say, ‘Oh my God, my spleen!’" Schwartz said. "They would come off and say, ‘I just don’t feel right. I’ve got pain in my abdomen. It’s excruciating pain and discomfort. I don’t feel myself.’"
Schwartz said he does not know how the aftermath of Murray's injury unfolded at Warren Hills, but that it's important schools know what to do when a serious injury occurs.
"You have your emergency action plan in place and it’s well rehearsed with your physician and your EMS personnel, so everybody’s on the same page," Schwartz said. "You need all hands on deck."
Matthew Stanmyre may be reached at mstanmyre@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattStanmyre. Find NJ.com on Facebook.