The Oklahoma football program was rocked on Thursday with the news that middle linebacker Austin Box has died at the age of 22.
According to SI.com, a spokeswoman for the state Medical Examiner’s office confirmed the death. El Reno Police Chief Ken Brown says officers and medics responded this morning to a call of an unresponsive male who was identified as Box. The senior linebacker from Enid was then taken to an El Reno hospital before being transferred by air ambulance to an Oklahoma City hospital where he later passed away.
A police report obtained by KOKH FOX 25 in Oklahoma City shows that Box’s death was “probably” related to an overdose. The report doesn’t reveal what Box took, but it does say that it was a “controlled dangerous substance.” I would caution, however, not to read too much into this report until more details are released. The use of the word “probably” is sketchy at best and the link provided is to the site’s Facebook page (which doesn’t exactly scream “reliable information”). Still, I included the link because of the mention of the police report.
Whatever the cause of death, this is a tragedy and it’s a sad day for Box’s family and friends, as well as the Oklahoma and college football world. At 22 years old, the he had his entire life ahead of him and it’s sad that a young person perished so soon.
My thoughts go out to Box’s family.
