Class of 2019, Normal UHigh Kai Bates-Diop

[tornado]

Kai Bates-Diop, younger brother of outstanding Ohio State star Keita Bates-Diop and also an Ohio State recruit...collapsed Thursday in practice and had to be resuscitated - he was given CPR & transferred to a hospital in Peoria according to reports.
This is a tragic event somewhat reminiscent of the Nick Knapp incident many years ago at Woodruff.

http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20170210/ohio-state-mens-basketball--lyle-bates-diop-leave-for-family-emergencies

http://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-basketball/2017/02/80061/its-been-a-rough-24-hours-for-our-program-two-ohio-state-players-dealing-with-family-emergencies-as-team-preps-for

[tornado]

Kai Bates-Diop is recovered and had a cardiac defibrillator implanted to help in case he ever again has a life-threatening episode of heart rhythm abnormality
Thus - fortunately, he should be able to lead an essentially normal life.

however in the Normal U-High game last night - they decided to end his career with this...
They had a pregame ceremony and thanked the fans who supported Kai during his illness and who donated to help supply schools with potentially life-saving defibrillators.

Then Kai was dressed (even tho NOT medically cleared to play) and was on the floor & started the game at tip-off.
then...
"The teams agreed prior to the game to allow Bates-Diop to score two points and for four-year Pontiac team manager Chas Holt,
wearing uniform No. 21, to do the same at the other end. Thus, it was 2-2 when both exited to the cheers of a near-capacity crowd."

So in a prearranged, staged, undefended start to the game, they allowed the two players each to score unopposed, then stopped the game to take both players out.

http://www.pantagraph.com/sports/high-school/basketball/boys/bates-diop-basket-begins-special-night-for-u-high/article_3ed7c0db-9ea7-5f7c-85fd-d0a0d49a7762.html

Note- The large majority of kids who have such life-threatening events then get a defibrillator - end up NOT being medically cleared and then end their competitive careers.

There have been players who have received medical clearance and then once again played competitively after having a defibrillator implanted. But....there does seem to sometimes be a problem when that happens....and there are always risks.....generally the player is asked to waive liability but even with those waivers - as we saw in the Gathers, Lewis, Knapp situations....there still seems to be the higher likelihood of legal actions.

A couple of the examples are:

Nick Knapp from Woodruff - he was denied medical clearance from Northwestern, never played there but did play elsewhere (DII) then sued Northwestern

Wichita State had a kid Denzel Bowles but he had a near-death experience with cardiac arrest followed by defibrillator implantation. He did not get cleared to play again at Wichita but went to Texas A&M and barely played then James Madison and had a solid 2-year career there..

Emmanuel Negedu (who played for indiana Elite, same program as Koch Bar) had a life-threatening heart stoppage while at Tennessee and they did NOT clear him after he got a defibrillator.
He went to New Mexico where he did get cleared - but then he has more serious heart rhythm events and ended his career there.

Both Reggie Lewis and Hank Gathers chose to continue playing despite medical warnings against it - and both suffered repeat cardiac arrests and died.

There are literally hundreds of other cases that don't make it to the national media's attention

https://www.osfhealthcare.org/blog/surgery-to-implant-new-technology/

http://www.sj-r.com/article/20140712/NEWS/140719779

http://www.week.com/story/34197788/2017/01/Friday/young-local-athlete-survives-cardiac-arrest-on-basketball-court

http://www.themorningsun.com/article/MS/20161216/NEWS/161219701

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/HeartDisease/high-school-basketball-star-dies-court/story?id=13055595

http://www.sca-aware.org/sca-news/southern-indiana-basketball-player-jeron-lewis-dies-on-court

http://www.sca-aware.org/sca-news/basketball-players-use-aed-to-save-a-life

http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/Teen-Basketball-Player-Collapses-During-Tournament-257867631.html

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2017/01/20/coach-credited-with-reviving-student-who-collapsed-at-basketball-game/

Altho almost all such examples are males, it has happened also to girls playing basketball

http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/death-on-the-basketball-court