Football players keep dying at Kansas colleges

By Nomin Ujiyediin,

Published February 23, 2022 at 4:00 AM CST

Ways To Subscribe

For the second time in three years, a football player at a Kansas community college died after a grueling summer practice. But the school denies responsibility for the teen's death. Plus, free money from the federal government turned into more of a headache than some Kansas and Missouri towns could handle.

In August 2021, Tirrell Williams, a 19-year-old lineman at Fort Scott Community College, collapsed during football practice. The school continues to deny any wrongdoing in his passing. Williams' death is eerily similar to that of Braeden Bradforth, who died of exertional heat stroke at Garden City Community College in 2018. KCUR’s Lisa Rodriguez talks to reporter Sam Zeff about what he uncovered in this case.

The federal government offered billions in funds to small towns across the country for pandemic recovery. But communities in Missouri and Kansas collectively turned down more than $5 million. Harvest Public Media’s Elizabeth Rembertreports on why some found the money to be more of a headache than a lifeline.

Contact the show at news@kcur.org. Follow KCUR onTwitter andFacebook for the latest news.

Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Byron Love with Trevor Grandin and edited by Gabe Rosenberg & Lisa Rodriguez.

You can support Kansas City Today by becoming a KCUR member: kcur.org/donate