Family turns to Jackson Parents ask coalition for support in probe

For the first time, Rashidi Wheeler's parents publicly saidTuesday they believe the death of their son "could have beenprevented."

The parents also announced the Rev. Jesse Jackson has agreed toact as the family's spokesman. They requested that Jackson and hisRainbow/Push Coalition assist Northwestern in any investigation intothe events leading up to and surrounding the death of the seniorsafety, who died during running drills Friday from an asthma attackas the NU football team took part in conditioning exercises.

"His mother and I and family are looking into trying toinvestigate and understand what happened on the field here atNorthwestern," said George Wheeler, Rashidi's father, after a 90-minute memorial service on the NU campus Tuesday afternoon. "We don'thave all the information. We have asked the Rev. Jackson and hisstaff to work with us and to support us. Our only objective here isto understand what happened to our son."

George Wheeler reiterated what Linda Will, Rashidi's mother, saidMonday--that the family would like to see more safety procedures putin place by the school to help ensure athletes have the best medicalcare available when an emergency situation arises.

The family and Jackson indicated they have obtained informationthat calls into question how quickly emergency medical aid was givento Wheeler once he experienced trouble breathing.

"We do feel that this could have been prevented," George Wheelersaid. "We don't have details, but we have asked for an investigationto look into the death of Rashidi, and we'd like all questionsdirected to the Rev. Jackson and his staff."

Jackson, who gave a rousing eulogy during the service and willattend Wheeler's funeral Monday in Pomona, Calif., was asked whatinformation led to questions about the timing of the treatment givento Wheeler. NU medical staff said he was conscious and coherent forabout 10 minutes before he lost all breathing and suffered heartfailure.

"There are concerns about what happened the last hour of his lifeand the quality of assistance," Jackson said. "At this point there isno finger-pointing, no anger, no hostility, but there is a desire toknow what the last hour of their son's life was like. What were thelast minutes like? What happened? Was there appropriate care? Whatcould have been done differently? Was it preventable?

"Those are issues I will investigate on behalf of the family whilethey grieve and work through the trauma of this sudden loss."

Jackson said the family "does not want to be premature into theirconclusions" but has been informed by eyewitnesses that "four or fiveboys fell out at the same time" because of overexertion during thedemanding drills. The family is questioning whether that many worn-out players taxed the six training-staff members present.

Sophomore wide receiver Jason Wright, who sang at the service,told the Los Angeles Times he was one of the players who "collapsedand fell unconscious," which is why he "never saw Rashidi go down,"even though Wheeler was two players ahead of him in line.

"I got up, threw up and was happy as I've ever been that Ipassed," Wright told the Times. "Then I heard someone say, 'Rashidilost his pulse.' "

Jackson also indicated there is reason to believe the medicalstaff on the field had trouble calling for an ambulance.

"The telephone back to the fieldhouse or whatever wasmalfunctionable, and they finally got a rescue [Evanston FireDepartment paramedics] through cell phones or something," he said."But all this is so very preliminary. The family, they're hurt, butthey're not angry or bitter. But their curiosity does need to besatisfied. And the university must, of course, accept responsibilityto be a willing part of that pursuit to those questions.

"And many of those [questions] come from players. So the questionis was [the medical staff] sufficient to deal with the situation. Wasresuscitation given? Was the rescue squad there?"

Kevin Bentley, one of Wheeler's best friends and the player whowill wear Wheeler's No. 30 this season, said he saw "85 to 90percent" of the incident that led to Wheeler's death.

"Maybe we were undermanned [medically], who knows?" Bentley said."I'm not going to speculate, but just hope that some precautions betaken in the future. I just don't want to see another one of myteammates die."