Twenty summers ago, a healthy NFL star died after practice on a scorching day at the Minnesota Vikings' training camp. The words still sting and baffle in equal measure. Korey Stringer's sudden death at age 27 was not from a heart attack, a broken neck or an undetected genetic malady. The offensive tackle succumbed to complications from exertional heatstroke, an avoidable and easily treated condition that sports medicine largely ignored at the time.
The 20th anniversary of Stringer's death on Aug. 1, 2001, will bring a new round of pain to his family and friends. They will take comfort, however, in knowing that their tragedy changed the world.