Death by Homicide in National Collegiate Athletic Association Athletes Between 2003 & 2013
BACKGROUND:
The
incidence of homicide-related death among individuals of college age in the
United States population is estimated at 15.5/100 000. The incidence of
homicide among National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) athletes is
unknown.
AIM:
To
investigate the rate of homicide-related death in NCAA athletes and to identify
associated risk factors.
METHODS:
The NCAA
Resolutions list, NCAA catastrophic insurance claims, media reports, and
published NCAA demographic data were used to identify student athlete deaths
and total participant seasons from 2003-04 through 2012-13. Homicide-related
deaths were analysed by sex, race, division, sport, method, location, and
circumstance. Internet searches were used to gather case details.
RESULTS:
Forty-two
cases of homicide-related death were identified from 4 242 519 individual
participant seasons during the ten-year study period. The incidence of
homicide-related death in NCAA athletes was 1.0/100 000. The incidence in males
was 1.45/100 000 and in females was 0.4/100 000 (relative risk (RR) 2.9,
p=0.01). The incidence in black athletes was 4.2/100 000 and in white athletes
was 0.4/100 000 (RR 7.0, p<0.001). The highest sport-specific
homicide-related death rate was in American football (3.7/100 000), with a RR
of 4.4 (p=0.002) compared to all other sports. 88% of cases occurred
off-campus. 38% of cases occurred at a social gathering, and 38% of cases
occurred in a place of residence. 74% involved a fatal shooting.
CONCLUSIONS:
Homicide-related
deaths in NCAA athletes occur most commonly in males, black athletes, and
American football players. Understanding the incidence, risk factors, and
circumstances of homicide-related deaths in college athletes may assist NCAA
institutions in developing preventative measures.
- 1Department of Family Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
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