Former Canadian Football League player now rookie coach of Daytona Beach has player pass away after game
A player for a Daytona Beach indoor-football team died Monday evening after colliding with another player during a game at the Ocean Center.More than 1,440 spectators watched as Daytona Thunder defensive player Javan Camon, 25, tried to tackle a player carrying the ball for the visiting Columbus Lions. Another Lions player blocked Camon and they smashed against each other, head to head. The blow knocked Camon unconscious, said Daytona Beach Police Lt. Greg Grayson.
Paramedics and doctors at the arena tried to revive Camon on the field for 10 minutes before an ambulance took him to Halifax Regional Medical Center. He was pronounced dead on arrival, said EVAC ambulance spokesman Mark O'Keefe. Camon had gone into cardiac arrest.The other player was not transported, Grayson said.After Camon left the field, play resumed and the Lions defeated the Thunder 45-42, according to the team's Web site. (An earlier version of this article contained an incorrect score.)There was no bleeding or other outward signs of trauma, Grayson said."This is merely a play on the field. It's strictly an accidental death," Grayson said.The games' highlights are carried on a PBS station. (An earlier version of this story incorrectly said the whole games were broadcast.)"I haven't viewed the tape," Grayson said.Camon played at the University of South Florida, where he gained a reputation as a persistent player with determination.He was a backup to future NFL player J.R. Reed for three seasons but became a starter his senior year when teammates selected him as one of four captains."Any time you can go out and play as a great team, it's a special thing," Camon told reporter Greg Auman of The St. Petersburg Times in September 2004. "This game doesn't last forever, so we're going to go out and play our hearts out."Camon was the leading tackler at USF in 2004 with 101 total tackles.His death came two weeks into the rookie season for Thunder Coach Leon Bright, one of Brevard County's most famous athletes.Bright was a running back from Merritt Island High School who had two strong seasons at Florida State and became a Canadian League Hall of Famer for the British Columbia Lions.Later he played in the NFL for the New York Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.Bright could not be reached for comment.Just before midnight Monday, a handful of Thunder players stood outside Halifax Regional's emergency room, silent and somber. They would not comment.Thunder officials on their way to the emergency room said little as well."We want to be there to support the family," one team official said.Camon was no stranger to the perils of the sport. In 2004, he was involved in a crushing tackle in which a teammate knocked an opposing player unconscious."I didn't want to be as aggressive because now I knew how many bad things could happen from a good hit," he told reporter Eli Saslow of the Washington Post in October
Paramedics and doctors at the arena tried to revive Camon on the field for 10 minutes before an ambulance took him to Halifax Regional Medical Center. He was pronounced dead on arrival, said EVAC ambulance spokesman Mark O'Keefe. Camon had gone into cardiac arrest.The other player was not transported, Grayson said.After Camon left the field, play resumed and the Lions defeated the Thunder 45-42, according to the team's Web site. (An earlier version of this article contained an incorrect score.)There was no bleeding or other outward signs of trauma, Grayson said."This is merely a play on the field. It's strictly an accidental death," Grayson said.The games' highlights are carried on a PBS station. (An earlier version of this story incorrectly said the whole games were broadcast.)"I haven't viewed the tape," Grayson said.Camon played at the University of South Florida, where he gained a reputation as a persistent player with determination.He was a backup to future NFL player J.R. Reed for three seasons but became a starter his senior year when teammates selected him as one of four captains."Any time you can go out and play as a great team, it's a special thing," Camon told reporter Greg Auman of The St. Petersburg Times in September 2004. "This game doesn't last forever, so we're going to go out and play our hearts out."Camon was the leading tackler at USF in 2004 with 101 total tackles.His death came two weeks into the rookie season for Thunder Coach Leon Bright, one of Brevard County's most famous athletes.Bright was a running back from Merritt Island High School who had two strong seasons at Florida State and became a Canadian League Hall of Famer for the British Columbia Lions.Later he played in the NFL for the New York Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.Bright could not be reached for comment.Just before midnight Monday, a handful of Thunder players stood outside Halifax Regional's emergency room, silent and somber. They would not comment.Thunder officials on their way to the emergency room said little as well."We want to be there to support the family," one team official said.Camon was no stranger to the perils of the sport. In 2004, he was involved in a crushing tackle in which a teammate knocked an opposing player unconscious."I didn't want to be as aggressive because now I knew how many bad things could happen from a good hit," he told reporter Eli Saslow of the Washington Post in October
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