Mother of Alabama football player who died after passing out at practice speaks

NEW BROCKTON, Ala. ( WDHN ) — A Coffee County mother is mourning the loss of her teenage son.

Enterprise resident Regina Johnson-Adams said her son Semaj Wilkins was one of the most caring and outgoing people she has ever met. She said her son was also a sports fanatic who loved baseball and basketball but gravitated most to the gridiron.

“He said, ‘No, I want to go out for football,'” Johnson-Adams said. “‘Mama, I can hit ’em, I can hit ’em.’ … He just had a love for sports, period.”

But she never expected that the game her son loved so dearly would be the cause of his untimely death.

On the afternoon of Aug. 13, at around 4:30 p.m., Wilkins had a medical emergency and collapsed at New Brockton High School during football practice. Wilkins was a freshman at New Brockton and a part of the school’s football team.

Johnson-Adams said that when she got the phone call notifying her of what happened, she didn’t know what to think.

“I panicked. I grabbed everything I could think of and ran out,” Johnson-Adams said. “And I got to that field, and I was devastated because they wouldn’t let me get to my baby.”

Wilkins was transported to Medical Center Enterprise, where he later died.

Reports show that around the time of her son’s medical emergency, the town of New Brockton was under a Level 3 heat risk with temperatures in the high 90’s, which is considered a significant risk to those who do not have effective cooling or adequate hydration.

Former students who played under the current staff said the team takes heat protocol and hydration very seriously and carefully carries out those protocols.

While Johnson-Adams is unsure if the heat was the reason for her son’s death, she does know he had no underlying health issues. Her family, however, does have a history of health issues.

“At this time, I know that my son was healthy,” Johnson-Adams said. “… It was probably something that we missed. You never know because we do have underlying health problems in our family.”

Coffee County Coroner Arnold Woodham said soon after Wilkins’ death it could be weeks before an official cause of death is released. Johnson-Adams said while she has no ill will toward the New Brockton coaching staff, she hopes to see more precautions taken in the future.

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