Missouri
A Missouri high school football player dies at practice. It’s the 3rd case this week.
A 15-year-old Missouri high school student died two days after suffering a medical emergency. It’s the third case to happen in the U.S. this week.
Around 5:32 p.m. on Wednesday Aug. 14 the Johnson County Med-Act were dispatched to Shawnee Mission Northwest High School in Shawnee, about 10 miles south of Kansas City, after a medical emergency was reported, a press release from the emergency care service said.
When the emergency responders arrived, the 15-year-old boy was in critical, life-threatening condition. He was then transported to a local hospital, the emergency service said.
“We have learned that the patient has passed away,” Capt. Joe Folsom of the Johnson County Med-Act told USA TODAY in a statement. “MED-ACT would like to extend our sympathies to the patient’s family, friends, and other loved ones.”
The Shawnee Mission School District identified the student as Ovet Gomez-Regalado and identified him as a sophomore at Shawnee Mission High School, according to a local outlet KSHB-TV,
Football-Related Death: 14-year-old Alabama high school football player collapses, dies at practice
Shawnee Mission School District sends letter to families about football player’s death
Shawnee Mission Northwest High School’s principal sent the following letter home to parents regarding Gomez-Regalado’s death, according to reporting by local outlet KDFW-TV, who obtained the letter.
“I am writing to share some difficult news with you. This morning, we learned of the death of Ovet Gomez Regalado, a sophomore here at Shawnee Mission Northwest, High School,” the letter read. “As you can imagine, it has been an extremely difficult time for the family. Ovet was such a warm and wonderful student that touched the hearts of so many in our community.”
The letter goes on to say that many of Gomez-Regalado’s classmates may “need time to process what has happened.” The school district is taking steps to help their community cope with this tragic loss.
“School and district staff will be available to talk with anyone who is struggling to handle their emotions around this difficult issue,” the letter said. “If your child would like to talk with someone, please encourage them to let an adult know, and we will help them.”
USA TODAY reached out to Shawnee Mission School District but have not received a response.
3 high school football-related deaths have been reported this week
Gomez-Regalado’s death is the third reported death of a high school football player in 12 days.
Javion Taylor, 15, died after doing about 40 minutes of light drills on Aug. 5, according to the school district in Hopewell, Virginia.
Semaj Wilkins, 14, suffered a medical emergency during an afternoon football practice on Aug. 13, in Alabama.
Expert says August is the ‘deadliest month’ for heat
“August is the deadliest month for high school athletes because of the heat,” said Madeleine Orr, an associate professor in sport ecology at the University of Toronto in Ontario and author of “Warming Up: How Climate Change is Changing Sport.”
“A person doesn’t escalate into exertional heat stroke out of nowhere. There’s external signs,” Orr said.
Even if there’s no visual clues for a person to see, the athlete would be feeling it, Orr said.
“The athlete has to feel comfortable telling a coach or a trainer, I don’t feel well,” she said.
Orr and others are concerned about the increasing risks to athletes of all ages as the climate warms.
July and August are the most deadly months for heat-related deaths among athletes, Orr said.
77 heat-related deaths have been reported since 2000
According to a USA TODAY database, at least 77 heat-related deaths have been reported among athletes since 2000. Of those deaths, 75% occurred during the months of July and August, and 65% of the fatalities were among teenagers. The numbers do not include the recent deaths.
“Temperatures are higher and the athletes aren’t yet acclimatized to playing in tough conditions,” Orr said. “It’s when the athletes are the least ready and it’s the hottest time.”
“Athletes are coming back to practices a little less fit than they would have been a few months ago and not acclimatized to the heat at this time.”
Experts say heat-related deaths are largely underreported in the U.S., in part because the official signing a death certificate may not be aware of the circumstances that led to the hospitalization or death.
It’s “really hard to track” deaths from exertional heat stroke, Orr said. “You need an internal body temperature at that time.”
“If coaches don’t know to check, by the time the athlete gets to the hospital the illness might be attributed to something else,” she said.
GoFundMe account created for Kansas City high school football player
A family friend, Candie Dearing, created a GoFundMe account to help the Gomez-Regalado family.
In a post on the account, Dearing said that Gomez-Regalado was his parent’s youngest son.
“Ovet was only 15 years old and one of the kindest humans,” Dearing wrote. “He was always offering a huge smile with a hug. All that knew him loved him. Let’s all come together and show them support and help them while they grieve this huge loss in their family.”
At the time of publication, the account raised $19,571 of the $25,000 goal.
Ahjané Forbes is a reporter on the National Trending Team at USA TODAY. Ahjané covers breaking news, car recalls, crime, health, lottery and public policy stories. Email her at aforbes@gannett.com. Follow her on Instagram, Threads and X (Twitter) @forbesfineest.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey announced his office will file a lawsuit against Jackson County over a gun ordinance recently passed by the county’s legislature.
The ordinance, introduced by Jackson County Legislator Manny Abarca, prevents 18- to 21-year-olds from buying pistols or semiautomatic rifles.
“I will be filing suit against Jackson County for their illegal attempt to violate Missourians’ right to keep and bear arms,” Bailey posted on his X (formerly Twitter) account.
Bailey’s office also ordered the county to preserve all records and communications from the legislature related to the measure.
The ordinance was opposed and even vetoed by County Executive Frank White, Jr., who warned the legislature it could open the county to legal battles like the one Bailey threatened.
Still, the legislature voted to overturn his White’s veto, a move he called “disappointing.”
White released a statement on Bailey’s intent to sue the county, saying he wasn’t surprised.
“This announcement comes as no surprise. From the start, I made it clear that this ordinance violated Missouri law,” White said in part in a statement. “While I strongly disagree with the state’s preemption of local gun regulations — because I believe communities should have the ability to protect themselves—ignoring the law doesn’t lead to progress. It leads to predictable legal challenges and wasted resources, and unfortunately, this ordinance will do more harm to gun safety advocacy than doing nothing at all.”
On Tuesday, White said his office was receiving concerns about the ordinance and called on the legislature to amend the measure to add protections for young hunters at a Wednesday meeting.
Abarca and other legislators subsequently skipped the meeting to protest an ongoing disagreement on how to allocate over $70 million in ARPA funding.
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Missouri
Nonprofit drops $150K into PAC supporting lame-duck Missouri governor • Missouri Independent
The not-for-profit group originally set up to pay for Gov. Mike Parson’s 2021 inauguration gave $150,000 this week to the political action committee that helped get him elected.
Parson is leaving office due to term limits and has said repeatedly that he does not intend to be a candidate for public office again.
The PAC, Uniting Missouri, received the donation on Monday from Moving Missouri Forward Inc., which also paid the expenses to write and publish a biography of Parson called “No Turnin’ Back” that the governor has promoted extensively since its publication in February.
The origin of the $150,000 is unclear, since Moving Missouri Forward is not required to disclose its donors. But none of the money donated Monday was generated by sales of the Parson book, attorney Marc Ellinger said in an interview with The Independent. A different not-for-profit called Moving Missouri Forward Foundation receives all proceeds from book sales, he said, and is headed by First Lady Teresa Parson as president and Claudia Kehoe, wife Gov.-elect Mike Kehoe, as vice president.
“It paid for the book and contributed the entire cost of it and everything to the foundation as a charitable contribution, so that the foundation would have an ability to raise money through the book,” Ellinger said.
Ellinger is the registered agent for both Moving Missouri Forward Inc. and Moving Missouri Forward Foundation.
Uniting Missouri PAC had about $93,000 on hand at the end of October. Reports filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission show it raised about $1.3 million since the start of 2023 and spent about $775,000 this year helping two officeholders Parson appointed, Kehoe and Attorney General Andrew Bailey, win hotly contested Republican primaries.
Uniting Missouri has also spent about $120,000 for Parson’s trips to watch the Kansas City Chiefs win the two most recent Super Bowls.
Tom Burcham — a former Republican state lawmaker from Farmington with close ties to Parson’s longtime friend and fundraiser, lobbyist Steve Tilley — is in charge of Uniting Missouri. It is unclear why the PAC needs to keep raising money to support a candidate who is no longer running for public office, and Burcham did not respond to a request for comment.
Burcham is also the registered agent for a not-for-profit created in September called 57 Foundation Inc., in reference to Parson’s position as the 57th governor of the state. The nonprofit held a fundraiser Nov. 14 in Kansas City where donors paid as much as $10,000 for a table and pre-event reception with the Parsons.
The purpose of 57 Foundation, according to its incorporation papers, includes “providing essential resources and support to needful and vulnerable Missourians who cannot adequately help themselves. The foundation’s activities are inspired by and aligned with the legacy of public service and contributions of Missouri’s 57th Governor, Michael L. Parson.”
The Moving Missouri Forward Inc. donation to Uniting Missouri is roughly equal to the remaining funds raised on behalf of Parson, Ellinger said.
It will now transition to become a vehicle for funding Kehoe’s inauguration, he said.
Soon after Parson’s 2021 inauguration, Moving Missouri Forward Inc. released a list of donors who contributed $500 or more to the $369,115 raised for the festivities. The list did not include the specific amounts donated.
As a not-for-profit 501(c)(4) entity, it is not required to reveal its donors. It is required to file a statement of revenues and expenses annually with the IRS. The most recent report, filed in November 2023 and covering 2022, shows $3,000 in contributions in 2022 and $40,563 in cash on hand at the end of the year.
The filing also showed a $25,000 contribution to the Moving Missouri Forward Foundation. The foundation is a 501(c)(3) entity and contributions are tax deductible.
The purpose of the Moving Missouri Forward Foundation, according to its creation filing, is to “aid, assist, or help Missouri’s children, including but not limited to Jobs for America’s Graduates-Missouri and children with autism and special needs.”
Mike and Teresa Parson have been co-chairs of Jobs for America’s Graduates-Missouri since 2016, when he was elected lieutenant governor.
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STARKVILLE — Mississippi State football is coming off its open week with no new injuries.
The Bulldogs’ injury report for Week 13 did not show any additions from their most recent SEC injury report, in Week 11 against Tennessee. MSU (2-8, 0-6 SEC) hosts Missouri (7-3, 3-3) at Davis Wade Stadium on Saturday (3:15 p.m. CT, SEC Network) in the final home game of the season.
The Tigers listed starting quarterback Brady Cook as probable after he returned from an injury last week.
The SEC newly mandated this season that each team provides injury reports for conference games. The first reports are revealed on Wednesdays and updated daily until the final report 90 minutes before kickoff. The full report is below.
Mississippi State football injury report vs Missouri
This will be updated daily as the injury reports change.
Mississippi State
- QB Blake Shapen: Out
- CB Traveon Wright: Out
- WR Creed Whittemore: Out
- WR Trent Hudson: Out
- RB Keyvone Lee: Out
- DL Kalvin Dinkins: Out
- DL Kedrick Bingley-Jones: Out
- OL Canon Boone: Out
Missouri
- WR Mookie Cooper: Out
- DE Darris Smith: Out
- QB Sam Horn: Out
- LB Khalil Jacobs: Out
- DE Joe Moore: Out
- OL Connor Tollison: Out
- S Tre’Vez Johnson: Probable
- QB Brady Cook: Probable
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
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