David Coleman Dead: Jay County Panthers Semi-Pro Football Player Dies After Hit During Charity Game

A semi-pro football player died Saturday after suffering a fatal hit in the middle of a game for charity.

The Toledo Blade reports that 32-year-old David Coleman Jr. of the Jay County (Ind.) Panthers was injured in an afternoon contest against the Northwest Ohio Knights at Springfield High School. He was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

WTVG-TV in Toledo adds that according to teammates, Coleman was blindsided while attempting to make a tackle on a punt return. The Blade notes that the game was a nonleague fundraiser called the Dave Calabrese Football Blitz -- an event honoring the Knights coach who suffers from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, otherwise known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

The Panthers are a part of the Indianapolis-based Crossroads Football League (CRFL). The league posted a statement on its Facebook account late Saturday, which read "Today we lost a brother, R.I.P Dave Coleman...you will be missed (via Jay County Panthers)."

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Comments

[DickTater]

10:37 PM on 05/15/2012

I know 2 semi pro players pretty well. I KNOW they aren't making enough to make it worth while...they just love sports and it is something they can do since a big career isn't in the cards.

I am busy getting my 13 yr old into basketball, baseball, golf. Maybe cross country in the fall.
He already had a freak winter knee injury...he doesn't need to limp away from HS, or have 3 concussions under his belt by age 18.

My strongest impulse is to get rid of football. I love it, too...but we have made every law imaginable against hitting other people. Basketball, Hockey, LaCrosse, would still be fine games without all the hard contact. Maybe better.
Football can't be changed, really. It was built around contact. Since it is illegal to do those things to people in any town in America...I think boxing, MMA, football, and any sport which has a pretty high incidence of life changing injury needs to be rethunk.

[Gabrielle Rossi]

03:58 PM on 05/14/2012

There was an incident in October 2010, when a Rutgers, NJ college player on a kickoff return was a player for the defense. He was running for about 30 yards and did a hit lead by his head on the guy returning the punt. After the hit his body went stiff and then he didn't move. Turns out he broke his neck, but he survived as a quadripligic, paralyzed from the neck/top of his shoulders down. Aren't these hits lead with the head banned?

[guoyakla]

04:32 AM on 05/28/2012

"Quadriplegic." Thank me later.

[ibwilliamsi]

02:47 PM on 05/14/2012

A man is dead and this is a tragedy. My hope is that someone will do right by his family.

[Kid Notorious]

02:33 PM on 05/14/2012

Terribly sad... But my first impulse is to blame the blocker. Its a charity game... Make your block but pull back a little! You're not playing for anything! Sad...

[guoyakla]

04:34 AM on 05/28/2012

The blocker didn't force David to play the game. Blaming anyone other than David for even being on the field, is asinine.

[kahunacook]

10:26 AM on 05/14/2012

Terribly tragic. This player, according to the Toledo Blade, is the father of five young daughters. His brother was one of his teammates and had talked him into coming out for the team two years ago. Both his brother and his coach claimed it was a legal, but hard block.

[alabama lawyer]

09:53 AM on 05/14/2012

Kick returns are the most dangerous plays in sports. I'm from Alabama so by rule I love football, but this is why I don't want my son to play.
My condolences to Mr. Colemans family and friends.

[thewirah]

09:52 AM on 05/14/2012

During a charity game? What a shame.

[cats8398]

09:09 AM on 05/14/2012

I don't know the rules in semi pro but if this guy lead with his head his intent was to injure.

[chris03]

11:42 PM on 05/14/2012

Exactly. I was at the game. The guy led with his head and left his feet during a blindside hit, aiming for the player's head, but ended up hitting him in the lower neck/sternum. The refs "said" it was a legal hit, but I know for sure it wasn't. The guy with the ball was 2 feet from running out of bounds, David was at least 3 yards behind him. There was no need for the hit at all.

[Leon Engelun]

08:32 AM on 05/14/2012

Bounty system in the semi pro levels too?

[annasophie1228]

07:36 AM on 05/14/2012

i understand that this is a football game, but i'm sure that the play is expected to be relaxed for charity. this is a terrible loss, i'm sure the man who hit him will never be the same.

[captainpoco]

07:30 AM on 05/14/2012

How tragic. Who blindsides someone at a charity game?

[annasophie1228]

07:41 AM on 05/14/2012

exactly. i'm thinking (seriously) that perhaps there was a rumor that there was a scout in the stands. other than that, it does not make any sense whatsoever - aside from roid rage.

[proofisinthepudding]

07:17 AM on 05/14/2012

There are risk to everyday life. Please don't start adding more regulations to games people play.

Pretty soon no one will be able to move from the chair in front of the tv.

[Carlene Sorrells]

04:06 AM on 05/14/2012

Hopefully the coroner will gather up any video footage and decide whether or not it was a clean hit. Football is a GAME and should be enjoyed. Noone should have to worry whether or not they are going to catch a dirty blindside hit. (I am NOT insinuating that this was a dirty hit, I am just saying it needs to be checked out.) We see too many young men drop dead on all kinds of game fields and it winds up more often than not that an undetected heart condition or some other undected health problem is to blame. Perhaps a more invasive check-up should be in order for players. It's too late for David Coleman, Jr., but perhaps it will stand as a wake-up call for the coaches and owners. RIP David.

[rsstone74]

03:19 AM on 05/14/2012

Is this back-alley version of football carefully self-regulated for safety? The NFL is. If it isn't, then I think the semi-pro team owners deserve mega-lawsuits.

[Big Horn Man]

01:05 AM on 05/14/2012

Too bad. My condolences to the victim family. Sorry to hear about that.