Coroner: Cal U. basketball player died of sickle cell complications
Shanice Clark
Members of the California University women’s basketball team bow theirs heads in a moment of silence for Shanice Clark before the Vulcans’ Jan. 25 game against Slippery Rock at the Convocation Center.
The Washington County coroner reported Monday a California University of Pennsylvania women’s basketball player who was found unresponsive in her Vulcan Village apartment in January died of complications of sickle cell trait.
Shanice Clark, 21, was found in the early morning hours of Jan. 18. She was taken to Monongahela Valley Hospital but could not be revived.
Initial reports suggested Clark might have died from aspirating on chewing gum while sleeping, and the death was accidental, but Coroner Tim Warco reported sickle cell complications were to blame, and the death was of natural causes.
Cal U. spokeswoman Christine Kindle said the university’s athletic department was aware Clark had sickle cell trait. According to the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s website, sickle cell trait is not the same as sickle cell disease, which is more severe. Those with sickle cell trait typically experience and lead normal, healthy lives. The trait only becomes a concern in situations where the body is pushed to extreme conditions, at which point the trait can cause red blood cells to “sickle” and block blood vessels.
Athletes at Division I and II schools are required to be tested for the trait or to sign a written release declining the test before competing, the NCAA website said. Kindle did not comment on how the university became aware of Clark’s condition, but said the athletic department followed all NCAA requirements.
“As a campus community, we keep Shanice in our thoughts, especially as the women’s basketball team focuses on tonight’s playoff game,” Kindle said Monday in an email. “Her teammates continue to wear her number 44 jersey on the sidelines in her memory.”
The women’s basketball team honored Clark at their Jan. 24 game with a moment of silence and a slide presentation in her memory. The team also collected donations for Clark’s family.
Clark, from Ontario, Canada, was a communications major and a forward on the basketball team. She had taken a medical redshirt this season after injuring her knee during the preseason.