"A very sad event has occured in sport, the death of
an athlete trying to make a dramatic weight loss to compete. Was he managed
effectively by his support team? What should the support team have been doing
to prevent this entirely preventable situation from occuring?"
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/news/mixed-martial-arts-fighter-26-dies-pre-event-153636535--mma.html
The simple fact with this tragedy is that the athlete was not managed properly let alone effectively. How in the world is it ethical to tell a fighter he has to lose 33lbs (15kg) in one week, let alone the 11lbs (5kg) he had to lose in the last 24 hours. There is no excuse for the negligence shown by all involved; event coordinators, coaches, support staff and even the athlete themselves.
Even if this
tragedy hadn’t unfolded and Souza had made the weight without dying, he would
not be in any shape to participate in the fight. He would be so physically
depleted of nutrients and metabolites and incredibly dehydrated that had he
managed to step into the cage, he probably would have died from the intensity
and brutality of the bout.
The support team
should never have made it an option for him to fight in this bout. There is no
safe way he could have done it. The event coordinators should have been told to
find someone who was at or closer to the weight limit or to cancel the bout,
which they inevitably had to do due to Souza’s death. The support team needed
to refuse to let Souza fight as they had a duty of care to him to ensure his
safety. Their negligence ultimately aided in his death and asserted that they
either have no idea what they are doing or are blatantly negligent in what they
do.
Either way,
negligence from several parties have led to a tragic end for an athlete who
wanted to compete, this is never ok.
R.I.P.
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