August 27, 2024
An eighth grader in West Virginia died Saturday due to football practice injuries, just three days after the first day of school.
Cohen Craddock, a 13-year-old student at Madison Middle School, had sustained a head injury during practice with his team, the Redhawks, Friday and was transported to a hospital, where he tragically passed away the following day, the Boone County Ambulance Authority said.
Ryan Craddock, Cohen’s father, told NBC News on Tuesday that his son collided with some other kids, fell and hit his head on his way down.
“That created brain swelling which started a snowball effect, which ultimately led to him passing away,” Craddock said.
Now Craddock wants to raise awareness about better safety protocol for young athletes and would like to have his son’s teammates use Guardian Caps — which are billed as “impact reducing soft-shell helmet covers” that offer an extra layer of protection for the head.
“I think with the Guardian Cap it could have been a little bit of a different outcome,” Craddock said. “And I would like to at least protect any and all the other kids that I can, starting at the county level, if I can move it on to the state or national level, to push for these kids to start wearing Guardian Caps at least in practice or however far they want to take it.”