Son of Erik Kramer found dead

[Evil ... Thy name is Orville Redenbacher!!]

http://rivals.yahoo.com/highschool/blog/prep_rally/post/California-QB-a-son-of-former-NFL-star-found-d?urn=highschool-wp7940

Griffen Kramer 18-year-old prep qb (backup) found dead Sunday of alcohol poisoning.
He was the son of former Lions QB Erik Kramer.

 

[poindexter]

From the story:
was tragically found dead on Sunday, sending a high school community into mourning while it wonders what may have pushed him to his death....

I am going to take a wild stab at this, and guess "too much booze".

 

[poindexter]

From the story:
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department also confirmed that it has no reason to believe that there was any criminal activity involved in the teen's passing.

So serving booze to 18 year olds is legal in California now?

 

[poindexter]

From the story:
It may always be unknown just how far the younger Kramer would have gone in football...

A senior sitting on the bench as a backup on the Thousand Oaks high school team? I have a pretty good idea how far this was going.

 

[Dick Whitman]

From the story:
It may always be unknown just how far the younger Kramer would have gone in football...

A senior sitting on the bench as a backup on the Thousand Oaks high school team? I have a pretty good idea how far this was going.

Not to be insensitive, because the story is sad, but from a journalistic standpoint, this kind of reporting by news side is so par for the course. Any time a current or former athlete ever died or got into trouble, it was like clockwork, some variation of the following:

"So was he a pretty good player, big part of the team?"

"He was OK. Backup running back. Got a few carries in blowouts."

"Do you think he might have been able to play in college?"

"Maybe a small school. They'll take anyone."

"But what about the Big Ten? Do you think he could have played in the Big Ten? Or maybe Notre Dame?"

"No way."

"I don't mean for sure, though. I mean, there was at least a chance, right?"

"No chance."

"But everyone has a chance. You never know what might happen in life!"

"Well, if you put it that way ..."

Next day headline:

H: H.S. football star dead in accident
S: Big Ten may have been in standout's future

The first cousin of this is when a gang banger gets shot and killed, and we learn from the news account that he had gotten his life together and was working toward a degree.

"Dirty Sanchez, his relatives said, was taking his role as a father seriously. He was working toward a degree, as they believed he recently looked into taking an online course at the University of Phoenix."

 

[Moderator1]

From the story:
It may always be unknown just how far the younger Kramer would have gone in football...

A senior sitting on the bench as a backup on the Thousand Oaks high school team? I have a pretty good idea how far this was going.

May always be an unknown?
Not to be insensitive, but the poor kid died. It WILL always be an unknown.

 

[Mystery Meat II]

From the story:
It may always be unknown just how far the younger Kramer would have gone in football...

A senior sitting on the bench as a backup on the Thousand Oaks high school team? I have a pretty good idea how far this was going.

May always be an unknown?
Not to be insensitive, but the poor kid died. It WILL always be an unknown.

I guess technically a CFL team might draft him.

 

[21]

It's a ridiculous cliche, on par with 'time will tell.' Belongs in a eulogy, not a news story.

That said, what a tragedy, and not because the dad was an NFL qb.

 

[Steak Snabler]

From the story:
was tragically found dead on Sunday, sending a high school community into mourning while it wonders what may have pushed him to his death....

I am going to take a wild stab at this, and guess "too much booze".

You know how it is these days. Nothing is an accident. You always have to find someone or something to blame.

I had a very close friend who OD'd on prescription drugs about two years ago. A lot of people — including his family — kept asking "how could this happen?"

Me, I knew the answer was "he liked to get high and he swallowed too much at one time."

 

[imjustagirl]

From the story:
It may always be unknown just how far the younger Kramer would have gone in football...

A senior sitting on the bench as a backup on the Thousand Oaks high school team? I have a pretty good idea how far this was going.

May always be an unknown?
Not to be insensitive, but the poor kid died. It WILL always be an unknown.

I guess technically a CFL team might draft him.

This made me laugh, which instantly made me feel guilty.

 

[Dick Whitman]

From the story:
was tragically found dead on Sunday, sending a high school community into mourning while it wonders what may have pushed him to his death....

I am going to take a wild stab at this, and guess "too much booze".

You know how it is these days. Nothing is an accident. You always have to find someone or something to blame.

I had a very close friend who OD'd on prescription drugs about two years ago. A lot of people — including his family — kept asking "how could this happen?"

Me, I knew the answer was "he liked to get high and he swallowed too much at one time."

You are conflating two things that aren't equivalent. The why and the how are important beyond a surface level. God forbid anything ever happen to my own children like that, I, too, would be questioning how it came to that. It's a simple question with a very complex answer. To dismiss so breezily is to dismiss, well, human psychology.

 

[Gator]

In every death, there's a lawsuit to be filed ...

 

[jr/shotglass]

From the story:
It may always be unknown just how far the younger Kramer would have gone in football...

A senior sitting on the bench as a backup on the Thousand Oaks high school team? I have a pretty good idea how far this was going.

Not to be insensitive, because the story is sad, but from a journalistic standpoint, this kind of reporting by news side is so par for the course. Any time a current or former athlete ever died or got into trouble, it was like clockwork, some variation of the following:

"So was he a pretty good player, big part of the team?"

"He was OK. Backup running back. Got a few carries in blowouts."

"Do you think he might have been able to play in college?"

"Maybe a small school. They'll take anyone."

"But what about the Big Ten? Do you think he could have played in the Big Ten? Or maybe Notre Dame?"

"No way."

"I don't mean for sure, though. I mean, there was at least a chance, right?"

"No chance."

"But everyone has a chance. You never know what might happen in life!"

"Well, if you put it that way ..."

Next day headline:

H: H.S. football star dead in accident
S: Big Ten may have been in standout's future

The first cousin of this is when a gang banger gets shot and killed, and we learn from the news account that he had gotten his life together and was working toward a degree.

"Dirty Sanchez, his relatives said, was taking his role as a father seriously. He was working toward a degree, as they believed he recently looked into taking an online course at the University of Phoenix."

This is so right, it's frightening.

Tip from years of dealing with this: Don't give them an in. If the kid was a benchwarmer, don't allow that there is ANY way he could have been termed a "football star." And if they try, "But everyone has a chance!", ask them if they aren't just trying to find an angle that isn't there.

 

[gravehunter]

In every death, there's a lawsuit to be filed ...

Especially in California

 

[cyclingwriter]

From the story:
It may always be unknown just how far the younger Kramer would have gone in football...

A senior sitting on the bench as a backup on the Thousand Oaks high school team? I have a pretty good idea how far this was going.

Not to be insensitive, because the story is sad, but from a journalistic standpoint, this kind of reporting by news side is so par for the course. Any time a current or former athlete ever died or got into trouble, it was like clockwork, some variation of the following:

"So was he a pretty good player, big part of the team?"

"He was OK. Backup running back. Got a few carries in blowouts."

"Do you think he might have been able to play in college?"

"Maybe a small school. They'll take anyone."

"But what about the Big Ten? Do you think he could have played in the Big Ten? Or maybe Notre Dame?"

"No way."

"I don't mean for sure, though. I mean, there was at least a chance, right?"

"No chance."

"But everyone has a chance. You never know what might happen in life!"

"Well, if you put it that way ..."

Next day headline:

H: H.S. football star dead in accident
S: Big Ten may have been in standout's future

The first cousin of this is when a gang banger gets shot and killed, and we learn from the news account that he had gotten his life together and was working toward a degree.

"Dirty Sanchez, his relatives said, was taking his role as a father seriously. He was working toward a degree, as they believed he recently looked into taking an online course at the University of Phoenix."

I'll add to the second part:

Relatives said Sanchez grew up going to church and was good in school. He loved his family, they said. However, he got caught up with the wrong crowd a few years ago.

 

[Dick Whitman]

If I were a gang banger, I would never try to turn my life around. It seems like they only get shot when they start trying to turn their life around. I would just keep bangin'. Business as usual. Because from everything I read in the newspaper, that's the safest way to go.

 

[Evil ... Thy name is Orville Redenbacher!!]

Bump.

This gets worse ...

As first reported by KTLA-TV in Los Angeles, of the individuals cited with various counts related to Kramer's death, 19-year-old David Nernberg has been most directly linked, charged with suspicion of involuntary manslaughter. While Kramer's official autopsy failed to discover a conclusive reason of death, investigators are convinced that a drug overdose was involved in his passing, with heroin a likely narcotic culprit.

Here's how KTLA described the latest findings from detectives:


The night before Kramer was pronounced dead, detectives told KTLA that Nernberg was partying with Kramer at a park and at some point, Kramer became unconscious and was in need of medical attention.

Authorities say that's when Nernberg put Kramer into his car and started driving around, calling his friends and asked what he should do.

Eventually, Nernberg took Kramer to his house, dragged his body inside and left him there until the following morning where he was found dead.

That Kramer's death appears to have come from a drug overdose is particularly trying for the teen's family, which had watched their son overcome substance abuse before transferring to Thousand Oaks. The teen spent part of his sophomore year in a rehab center and had credited his love of football as giving him hope for a better future

 

[rmanfredi]

THEY SHOULD SHUT DOWN THE THOUSAND OAKS FOOTBALL PROGRAM IMMEDIATELY AND BURN THE SCHOOL TO THE GROUND!!!

 

[DanOregon]

It's a tragic story - but like the Michael Jackson story, I can't help thinking of the countless drug overdoses that don't end up with arrests simply because the victim isn't well-known or isn't related to anyone famous.

 

[TigerVols]

Sorry for the family's loss...

...but **** Whitman's post was spot on, and MM's made me spray Dr Pepper; and unlike IJAG, I don't feel guilty about it one bit.