LeBron James’ oldest son is a Junior – LeBron Raymone James Jr. The 18-year-old goes by Bronny. LeBron and Savannah welcomed Bronny when they were both teenagers. Bronny probably could have turned pro without even flirting with a college basketball career, but he still decided to put some time in with the NCAA. Earlier this year, he ended up deciding to go to USC (University of Southern California) and he was on campus, practicing at USC’s Galen Center this week when he collapsed. They’re saying it’s cardiac arrest.
Bronny James, the highly touted USC freshman and son of Lakers star LeBron James, lost consciousness during a workout at the Galen Center on Monday and was treated for cardiac arrest. James, 18, was in stable condition Tuesday morning after a brief stint in the intensive care unit, according to a spokesperson for the James family.
It is the second time a USC freshman basketball player suffered cardiac arrest while practicing in a little over a year. Vince Iwuchukwu returned to the court six months after his cardiac arrest on campus. It’s unclear whether James’ recovery would follow a similar path.
“LeBron and Savannah wish to publicly send their deepest thanks and appreciation to the USC medical and athletic staff for their incredible work and dedication to the safety of their athletes,” the James family said in a statement.
Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics were called to the Galen Center, where USC practices, at 9:26 a.m. Monday for a medical emergency, according to a department spokeswoman. Bronny James lost consciousness and was taken “Code 3, lights and sirens” to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center shortly after the ambulance arrived, according to a source who was not authorized to speak about the situation publicly.
LeBron and Savannah rushed to Bronny’s side at Cedars-Sinai, and TMZ reports that Bronny is doing much better now. He’s still in the hospital, undergoing a battery of tests, and they still don’t know what caused this, but Bronny’s parents are optimistic. Random conspiracy nuts on the internet are not so optimistic, of course. Those lunatics are convinced that Bronny went into cardiac arrest because of (you guessed it) the Covid vaccine. Nevermind the fact that every doctor says that actually contracting Covid puts a person at greater risk for cardiac arrest. It’s the summer of 2023, the Covid vaccines have been widely taken across the world for more than two years, and now, every time anyone has any kind of mysterious illness or health issue, these dumbf–ks immediately turn it into a vaccine conspiracy. I’m including Elon Musk:
Elon Musk is replying to tweets about Bronny with conspiracies about the vaccine.
The James family is already going through a tremendously difficult moment and now the owner of this website is helping direct the crazies at them. pic.twitter.com/7qBqYYyK1W
— nikki mccann ramírez (@NikkiMcR) July 25, 2023
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
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- Bronny James courtside for Los Angeles Lakers v Golden State Warriors at Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, 06 May 2023.,Image: 774372790, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: JERRY PEREZ / Avalon
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- Bronny James courtside for Los Angeles Lakers v Golden State Warriors at Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, 06 May 2023.,Image: 774372792, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: JERRY PEREZ / Avalon
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- Bronny James courtside for Los Angeles Lakers v Golden State Warriors at Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, 06 May 2023.,Image: 774372816, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: JERRY PEREZ / Avalon
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- Bronny James courtside for Los Angeles Lakers v Golden State Warriors at Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, 06 May 2023.,Image: 774372817, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: JERRY PEREZ / Avalon
How frightening for him and his family. I really hope he recovers well and goes on to achieve his dreams in life. He seems to have such a bright future ahead of him. I have no idea what caused his issue.
ALSO.. ” Nevermind the fact that every doctor says that actually contracting Covid puts a person at greater risk for cardiac arrest.”
THIS ALL DAY LONG. I get so angry with the anti-vaxx people I know who point to vaccines as the probable cause for anything and everything. COVID ALSO CAUSES MYOCARDITIS. At a *higher* rate than the vaccine. But that doesn’t fit the narrative.
This was one of the reasons my anti vax nut job maga in laws started giving for not getting vaccinated after we all did. They supposedly knew sooooo many people that had heart attacks and were dying from getting the it. First of all, we know you don’t socialize with people that got the vaccine. Second, all the people you socialize with got Covid. Third, you are boomers so the probability of you knowing someone that’s had a heart attack is just higher anyway. Fourth, Covid can cause the exact same thing and fifth you are just lying and repeating what Fox News told you. It’s funny that anti vax people that don’t actually associate with people that have taken the vaccine know a shit ton of people that have had issues from the vaccine but people like me who have gotten both doses and boosters and who’s social group include pretty much all people who’ve gotten it don’t know anyone that’s had a problem. Weird.
The anti vaxx ghouls lay in wait for anything they can ascribe to vaccines. It’s disgusting.
OMG.. Sending your light and prayers in dealing with your crazy in-laws.!
@Erin: Yup! I’ve noticed that the only people I know who claim to have “a vaccine injury” are the ones who didn’t want to get it in the first place.* Funny how that works.
*The folks who railed against the vaccine but grudgingly got it in order to be allowed to see their grandkids, for instance.
Also? Is there any evidence that any of the COVID vaccines cause myocarditis?
And anyway, he had a cardiac arrest, but I bet the anti-vaxxers think it’s all the same. It is incredibly frightening to go through something like that at such a young age – without, it seems, any predisposition, too. Who knows what the consequences for that boy might be and whether it might impact his future career and life in general and it’s vile that there are people out there using this to peddle their own delusional conspiracies.
Yes, myocarditis – especially in teenage boys – is a known side effect of the Covid vaccine.
The heart is the weak spot in humans and heart disease is surprisingly common even among otherwise healthy, athletic young people. Hopefully, he’ll come out the other side of this in good health.
This, all day long, Elx! I remember figure skater Segei Grinkov dropping dead on the ice at 28 due to some heart issue… in the mid 90s. He was a two time gold medalist in great shape. This stuff happens.
DING DING DING
My 64 year old dad had a “widow maker” heart attack out of the blue. Super active guy, regular exerciser, never a whiff of high blood pressure or cholesterol. While I’m sure my QAnon extended family are mumbling about the vaccine, the doctor made it ABUNDANTLY clear that it is strongly genetically linked and there are often zero warning signs.
It’s frustrating because Tiktok and Youtube have older peds and GPs screaming from the rooftop that this has always happened, but now they have a boogeyman to latch onto.
I remember Sergei Grinkov because his love story with his wife (and skating partner) was so beautiful. They had a young baby, too.
Apparently, he had an enlarged heart and no one knew it until he collapsed and died.
I remember Sergei Grinkov’s death, but for me the classic example of not knowing someone had a defect was basketball player Pete Maravich. He had a spectacular college career, still holds some NCAA records; played about 10 years in the NBA, had some great years but ultimately injuries curtailed his ability. He’d been retired for 7 or 8 years when he dropped dead suddenly in 1988 during a pickup game. Autopsy revealed he was born without a left coronary artery, which over time had been slowly causing heart damage. His death was hugely shocking at the time.
https://pediatricheartspecialists.com/heart-education/blog/53-did-you-know-the-greatest-college-basketball-player-ever-had-a-congenital-heart-defect#:~:text=Amazingly%2C%20Pistol%20Pete%20was%20born,long%2Dstanding%20chronic%20oxygen%20deprivation.
Glad to see USC was on top of things and Bronny is doing well in the hospital. Wishing him all the best for his continuing recovery.
Speaking as a physician, I can tell you that there has always been a small percentage of young people who suffer sudden cardiac arrest, and it is very sad when it happens. This has been happening since way before anyone had even thought of COVID, let alone the vaccine.
The important news is that there are meaningful things non-medical bystanders can do!
You can
1) take a class from your local Red Cross in which you practice using an AED and giving quality chest compressions. There is always room to improve the quality of chest compressions and it makes such a big difference for the amount of oxygen that makes it up to the brain.
2) insist on AED purchase / placement for your church / worksite/ kid’s school / athletic extracurricular place etc.
3) know if and where the AEDs already are in the places you frequent.
4) check for AED location phone apps, and if you are part of an organization that has one, encourage them to register their AED on the app.
Yes to AED’s! My dad had a massive heart attack and cardiac arrest in the early 2000’s and the only reason he survived was because there was an AED nearby along with someone who knew how to use it.
The training is so important. I refresh my CPR training every few years and there are always changes.
Re: AEDs
For people with pre-existing cardiac disease, sometimes depending on the case detail, insurance will pay for an AED to be kept at home.
A large fraction of cardiac arrest occurs at home. It makes a -lot- of sense for higher risk people to have an AED at home if at all possible.
You can speak with your personal physician about whether insurance might pay, or r if the physician feels that a refurbished AED would be ok (they are significantly cheaper). Then everyone at home can get trained.
The second I heard this story I knew this is exactly what would be the narrative for these people. It’s all so predictable at this point and anyone that thinks Elon isn’t openly courting fascism needs to make some life changes.
Musty really thinks going after LeBron and Savannah’s oldest is gonna get him clout.
Then I got a island to sell you in the Sierra.
What is happening to young US athletes though!? I feel like i read about a young athlete dying or collapsing weekly. I hope these big greedy organisations arent just pumping these young sprotsmen and women with poison.i watched Will Smiths Concussion it was an eye opener.
It’s not any poison it’s insane coaches and athletic programs pushing these very young people like human cattle beyond what’s necessary in the middle of the summertime while not appropriately monitoring them for recovery breaks and sometimes not even giving them adequate hydration. This stuff happens constantly since before COVID. It’s usually in small towns with football teams.
https://www.factcheck.org/2023/01/scicheck-no-surge-in-athlete-deaths-contrary-to-widespread-anti-vaccine-claims/
Every time I read a story like this, I always brush up on my CPR skills. I’m glad Bronny will be okay.
Bronny 💝 💕
Nice. I co-sign.
Time and time again student athletes are having heart problems due to
1. Nature
2. Extreme diet/exercise
3. Steroids and other performance enhancing drugs.
These anti-covid Vax people skip ALL OF THAT.
I wish bronny a speedy recover. I know his parents are so scared.
Thank you for this concise list of points. I dated someone whose son was a college football player, and the intense training was year round. It was eye-opening to see what a student athlete in a ranked college football program went through.
Re: diet– in particular energy drinks such as Monster are popular with young folks. Heavens knows what those things are doing to an already overtaxed athlete’s heart.
@Tree-Exactly and we also need to take into account youth athletics in general in the country. My husband and I who are both in our early fourties’ both competed in high school athletics. We were good enough to compete at the state level and we didn’t actually start participating in those sports until middle school when you could actually be on the team and that was normal in the 90’s. These days though you have to start your kid in a program practically the day they are out of diapers for them to even have a shot at being good enough to make a middle or high school team. I’ve had so many conversations about this because I have young kids and had no idea how drastically things had changed. How are you not going to be burned out and what is it doing to your body when you have trained and played a sport year round from the time you were in preschool? My youngest son, who was in first grade, joined the club for the sport my husband played last year and he was behind his peers, AS A FIRST GRADER! It’s insane to me and I wonder how we got to this point so quickly.
Also, my oldest son did soccer on and off through the parks department starting at five, just for fun and when Covid stopped it we didn’t seek out alternative training or anything because he wasn’t that into it. We got him back into it in the summer of 2021 and then we signed him up for a travel team last fall because his best friend played on it and oh boy. Let’s just say it’s too late for him now and he wasn’t even close to these kids who my husband, who played high school soccer, said looked like high schoolers at 8-9 years old.
Heart problems are not uncommon but they are often unknown until something like this happens.
Anti-vaxxers are not serious people nor do they want serious answers. They just want to be victims. I’m convinced that is a political version of Munchausen Syndrome. They work so hard to convince people they are victims.
Yep. I had a friend who was pretty athletic and active like me and freshman year of high school she was walking back to her seat on the bus to go to school in the morning and collapsed, she got up got and everyone though she just tripped, she got to her seat and then died. They found out she had an enlarged heart and had absolutely no clue she had any heart issues. It was pretty devastating and really impacted me.
Why do these morons ALWAYS go for the vaccine, couldn’t possibly be the virus itself, which is known to cause cardiac issues and most people have had it twice at this point. Maybe he had too many energy drinks, maybe he overexerted himself in the heat, maybe it’s genetic, but no it must be the vaccine lol. When Lisa Marie died they said the same, it couldn’t be that she was overweight, a former smoker, and a former drug addict and alcoholic that did damage to her body, it was definitely the vaccine, same with Leslie Jordan! I just cannot believe how ignorant people are acting.
You know, there have been basketball players/athletes that have gone into cardiac arrest and even died pre-Covid. Unfortunately, this is nothing new. It’s very scary, but could have likely been caused by something that this young man was born with. People are insane! I hope he has a complete recovery and I hope his parents are ok too…how awful for this whole family. I’m sure they are going to be a nervous wreck for the foreseeable future!
My mom got Myocarditis in 2018 and it wasn’t due to Covid . She actually went to the Dentist for a routine procedure and got an infection. 2 months later she was rushed to the emergency. it took 2 whole months for the infection to get in her bloodstream and close to her heart. It was super scary
Young athletes are at a slightly elevated risk of sudden cardiac death than the general population of people their age. Their hearts are more strained and if there is any latent defect or issue that will cause a problem. They are at higher risk by nature of what afflicted Hamlin, commotio cordis. Your heart repolarizes itself with every beat – if you get hit hard a the right time, it messes up that process and your heart stops. This was all so common before COVID that parents of children who died campaigned to have defibrillators at sports fields where I grew up and in schools. Also NO ONE is immune to the effects of HEAT.
Ugh, again with the anti-vax nuts. Tell me you’ve never been involved with high level sporting without telling me. This. Has. Happened. For. Years. It’s terrifying, but it is not some new phenomenon. The truth is many times it is a defect that has been sitting dormant. There would be no real reason it would be found, until you are doing this high-level physical activity. We lost a teenage hockey player from my community….in 2005…I suppose that was the COVID vaccine too huh? 🙄
Now evidence shows COVID infections have increased the risk. If your child becomes an athlete at an advanced level you need to keep your CPR training current and know where the nearest AED is. But that’s been the case since loooooong before any aspect of COVID.
All these anti COVID vaxxers can miss me. I have a compromised immune system and I got COVID 4 times. 3 times within the span of 12 months. I don’t even know how that’s possible when I’ve been up to date on all my shots, except that getting COVID the first time tripped my body into a re-activation of Epstein Barr and then an autoimmune disorder with neurological effects.
So any time someone complains about the vaccines or how COVID isn’t “that bad,” I think about how I spent the last year on my couch, how I was bed ridden for weeks at a time with illness, and how one stupid infection changed the trajectory of my life forever.
Privilege. It’s so nice when you have it.
HCM is a genetic heart condition that is *generally* the culprit when young athletes go into sudden cardiac arrest. It’s not new and it’s a fairly common heart condition.
Yes, genetics… I just commented below about a friend of mine who passed from a similar experience. He was a young, athletic man playing basketball one day, seeming perfectly healthy; It was later revealed he had a genetic heart issue that he’d been living with but he/his family didn’t know about.
First off wishing Bronny health and healing! My thoughts are with his family and loved ones: 18 is very, very young to be in the hospital with a heart condition.
Next, my daughter caught Covid in 2020 and has a heart murmur. Luckily relatively mild, but she will need to be checked out for surgeries or some dental work or things along those lines in the future if she needs it. The risk of side effects from vaccines are mostly similar to nasty Covid infections and in most cases, you’re far better off with the vaccine. Plus every time you get Cvid there’s a bit of damage and it sets you up to be more susceptible to long Covid down the line!
Wow… how incredibly scary for him and his family, and his team as well. Wishing him a very speedy recovery!! Grateful for the excellent staff at USC who rushed to his aid.
Many years ago when I was in my early 20s, I attended the funeral of a high school friend who suffered cardiac arrest at 23yo while he was playing pick-up basketball with his friends one afternoon. The description of Bronny, a young/healthy/prime athlete just suddenly crumpling to the ground during a regular practice, was exactly similar to my friend’s experience – an otherwise perfectly healthy person having a heart issue while being active… the last person you would imagine it could happen to.
Just want to clarify that Bronny or any high schooler cannot jump straight to NBA like Bron did. Required to spend one year in college or foreign/domestic league before making the jump. And that is a very long drive to make from Galen Center to Cedars Sinai, it is a better hospital than anything near downtown, but yikes long ambulance ride.
Some schools/school districts sponsor free electrocardiogram screenings that identify students at risk for sudden cardiac arrest. My daughter’s school didn’t sponsor such a program but as she was an athlete I consulted her pediatrician. The doctor very much supported my desire for her to have an electrocardiogram, and we had it done. This was more than a decade ago before the covid vaccine became so dang divisive. I don’t know why more parents don’t push to have their child screened, independently or push for their school district to sponsor screenings. It’s simple and if there is a problem thank God you know about it beforehand.
Muskrat (who is also a friend of DESATAN) is, of course, an anti-vaxxer, himself. But instead of spewing remarks–and he is not a medical professional–he should THINK BEFORE HE SPEAKS! He should primarily mind his own business by paying attention to his businesses [changing the well-known logo of TWITTER (cyan blue bird) to a black, BORING letter “X”, amongst other things]!
Poor kid. I hope he gets better soon and to everyone creating false narratives to suit their own weird agendas… just stop.
Poor kid, I hope he recovers well. That is so scary for anyone, but especially someone that young!
First the antivaxxers said we blamed Covid on everything when people died and it was a huge conspiracy. Now they blame every collapse or death on the vaccine. Pick a lane and stop reading VAERS.
Those anti-vaxxers make me so angry.
I got myocarditis from Covid in Nov 20 bevore a vaccine was available and still have slight and begnine arrythmia, luckily no other long term damage.
But those stupid anti-vaxxers are again and again trying to convince me the vaccine (I got 6 month later) was the problem and not covid….
They simple can not belive that covid can lead to serious complication.
a young man in my rural community died of cardiac arrest and afterwards the entire extended family was then assessed or screened for some risk factor. Whatever was discovered from his autopsy was genetic in some way as far as I remember and 2 or 3 of his extended family were discovered to be at risk. I don’t know why I remember this it was so long ago but maybe they were open about it or agreed to have it discussed publicly. it was absolutely shocking and sad but something good came out of it
I send healing energy to Bronny. One cannot imagine what his family is experiencing; my thoughts are with them…