Alabama high school football player Semaj Wilkins died of heart disease, an autopsy shows

The cause of death of an Alabama high school football player who died after collapsing during a practice in August has been announced, according to the Coffee County Coroner’s Office.

Semaj Wilkins, a 14-year-old freshman at New Brockton High School, suffered a medical emergency during football practice on August 13th. According to the coroner’s report, he collapsed and became “unresponsive” before being taken to an area hospital.

Semaj tragically died, and on Thursday an autopsy conducted by the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences revealed his cause of death was heart failure due to cardiomegaly with biventricular hypertrophy secondary to a coronary anomaly.

The death was classified as natural.

The Mayo Clinic website defines cardiomegaly as an enlarged heart and ventricular hypertrophy as thickening of the heart’s walls. The disease can cause the heart to no longer be able to pump blood efficiently.

“Semaj was a young man who brought joy and inspiration to his colleagues, teammates, coaches and faculty members. “His loss will be deeply felt by everyone who knew him,” Coffee County Schools Superintendent Kelly Cobb wrote in a statement on Facebook at the time of his death.

Semaj was one of seven soccer-related deaths in August, prompting warnings from parents and others to take safety measures in the sport more seriously.

The circumstances of her death ranged from heat stroke to chest pain and head injuries.