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FOOTBALL

FOOTBALL; Northwestern Player Dies At Practice

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August 5, 2001, Section 8, Page 6Buy Reprints
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Northwestern safety Rashidi Wheeler died of bronchial asthma, the Cook County coroner's office ruled today.

No further details were given, but the 22-year-old Wheeler, who had a history of asthma, was carrying an inhaler when he collapsed on the field at practice on Friday. He died a short time later.

Northwestern Athletic Director Rick Taylor said today at a news conference that the school will re-evaluate its conditioning policies and the entire incident ''to find out if there is any possible way we could have done something better.''

Wheeler's death came two days after Minnesota Vikings tackle Korey Stringer died of heatstroke after an intense practice in stifling heat. But Northwestern said medical reports indicated heat did not contribute to Wheeler's death.

''I can't even really believe it's happened at this point,'' Wheeler's mother, Linda Will, said by telephone on Friday night from her home in Ontario, Calif., breaking down as she spoke. ''I don't even know how to deal with it.''

Temperatures were only in the low 80's, and some of Wheeler's Northwestern teammates said the conditions were the best they had had in recent days.

Though Wheeler had asthma, it never kept him from participating in sports. A physical on July 12 did not show any other major problems, said Tory Aggeler, the Northwestern trainer. And Wheeler had his inhaler with him during Friday's drills, which included running wind sprints on a field near Lake Michigan.

Wheeler struggled to catch his breath as he left the field about 5 p.m., said Alan Berkowsky, spokesman for the Evanston Fire Department, which sent paramedics to the field.

''It got harder and harder for him to catch his breath, and he collapsed,'' Berkowsky said. ''When the trainer got up to him, he was still trying to catch his breath. He stopped breathing, and his pulse also stopped.''

Even after he collapsed, Wheeler wanted to continue.

But then Wheeler's condition worsened. He did not respond to CPR from the coaching staff or paramedics. He died about an hour later at Evanston Hospital.

Wheeler, a 6-foot-2, 212-pound strong safety, started all 12 games last season as Northwestern won a share of the Big Ten title. His 88 tackles were third on the Wildcats.

''He felt he was in tiptop shape,'' Will said Friday night as friends and family gathered at her house to comfort her. ''This is difficult for me. I just talked to my son last night.''

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section 8, Page 6 of the National edition with the headline: FOOTBALL; Northwestern Player Dies At Practice. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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