Congressman Chris Smith at New Jersey Press Conference With Braeden Bradforth’s Mom: Garden City (Kansas) Community College ‘Brick Wall’ on Info About Football Conditioning Death Is ‘Rude,’ ‘Legalistic,’ ‘Condescending,’ ‘Outrageous’
April 5, 2019Garden City Community College’s Braeden Bradforth Death Cover-Up Makes New York Television News — Are the Sleeping National Sports Media Next?
April 6, 2019
Congressman Chris Smith at New Jersey Press Conference With Braeden Bradforth’s Mom: Garden City (Kansas) Community College ‘Brick Wall’ on Info About Football Conditioning Death Is ‘Rude,’ ‘Legalistic,’ ‘Condescending,’ ‘Outrageous’
DEATH OF BRAEDEN BRADFORTH – CHRONOLOGICAL HEADLINE LINKS:https://concussioninc.net/?p=13441
With Braeden’s Mom by His Side, Smith Reiterates Call for Immediate,
Independent Investigation of NJ Football Player’s Death in KS
MONMOUTH COUNTY, NJ-Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), the Congressman for the family of Braden Bradforth, said on Friday that he intends to fight for full transparency and accountability for Braeden’s family after Garden City Community College (GCCC)-the Kansas college where Bradforth died last year on his second day on campus-stonewalled the family’s request for an independent investigation into his death.
Smith was joined at a press conference by Bradforth’s mother, Joanne Atkins-Ingram, on Friday in Avon-by-the-Sea, NJ.
“From day one, I’ve just been trying to find out what happened to my son, and I have not been able to get those answers,” Joanne Atkins-Ingram stated on Friday. “We need to prevent this from happening to anyone else, because the way my son died was totally preventable.”
“It should have been a given that the college would have been absolutely transparent, because they bragged about that in the beginning; and that they would provide information, that any question she might have should be answered, and then some-a full explanation,”Smith said. “And that has not happened.”
“There are all kinds of questions swirling around, and no answers. Instead, lawyering up and deferring questions to the attorney at the college-I think that’s, frankly, outrageous,” Smith said. “And if you’re going to have transparency, open up and let them know what happened. If mistakes were made, bear responsibility for that and ensure it never happens again.”
Bradforth, a 19 year-old from Neptune, NJ, had received a scholarship in July of 2018 to play football at GCCC. On August 1, 2018, his second day on campus, he collapsed after evening football practice and was found unresponsive. After being taken to the hospital in an ambulance, he passed away just hours later due to “exertional heat stroke,” his autopsy later revealed.
The college conducted an internal review of Braeden’s death, but the family never received the results of the review and to date, there has been no independent investigation into Bradforth’s death. Smith recently met with Braeden’s mother and promised to do everything he could to assist her in her efforts to find out more about her son’s death, and what actions could be taken to prevent such tragedies in the future.
On Friday, March 22, Smith sent a letter to Ryan Ruda, President of Garden City Community College, requesting an independent investigation into Bradforth’s death.
President Ruda responded to Rep. Smith’s request for an independent investigation in a five-sentence email, saying that “Due to the KSA 12-105B Notice of Claim, the college is not at liberty to speak further on the matter. Recent correspondence has gone through the college attorney, Mr. Randy Grisell. At this time, Mr. Grisell is limited in the additional comments he can make, as the claim has been turned over to the college’s liability insurance carrier to handle.”
“That is such a legalistic and, I think, both rude and condescending response,” Smith said. “A mom wants to know what happened to her son. She asked and asked persistently right from the get-go, as she is entitled.”
After the University of Maryland football player Jordan McNair died in 2018 of heat stroke after football practice, the university commissioned an independent investigation that reviewed the college’s protocols for maintaining student-athlete health and safety in light of best practices, and whether they were appropriately implemented. The report assessed the college’s Emergency Action Plan and examined documents relevant to McNair’s death, including his workout notes and medical records.
“At a minimum, there needs to be a comprehensive GAO report on policies and norms to ensure the safety of athletes,” Smith stated, “to see if there is any uniformity in ensuring the best practices are utilized across the country. Where are the gaps?”
“There just needs to be a mandate that safety comes first,” Atkins-Ingram said. “My goal now is to enact change so there’s no other kid that has to suffer like this.”