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Sports

Details Emerge in Death of Ex-Northwest Football Player

Frostburg State's Derek Sheely died almost a week after collapsing during practice.

A Germantown athlete who died days after collapsing during a college football practice had showed signs he needed medical attention the morning of the workout, Frostburg State University said in a statement Wednesday.

Frostburg fullback Derek Sheely late Sunday, nearly a week after he collapsed at an Aug. 22 workout. As friends and family try to make sense of the Northwest High School graduate's death, more details are beginning to emerge.

According to the statement from Frostburg:

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"That morning’s practice included contact drills with the players in full gear. At some point during the practice, Derek displayed symptoms requiring attention. The athletic training staff made a quick assessment. They were beginning to escort him from the field when he collapsed."

Sheely was flown via Maryland State Police medevac to Western Maryland Regional Medical Center before being transferred to R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, where he died Sunday, according to Frostburg’s statement.

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Sheely's father Kenneth, told the New York Times earlier this week that his son died due to "severe head trauma" and that Sheely never showed any previous signs of heart conditions nor did he have any documented history with concussions.

Sheely’s father also told The New York Times he received multiple operations in an attempt to reduce swelling in the brain.

A public viewing is scheduled for 2 p.m. Thursday at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Gaithersburg.

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