Ohio State students gathered on Sunday night to hold a vigil for Kosta Karageorge, the 22-year-old wrestler and football player who was found dead near his apartment earlier in the day.
Karageorge died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to police. His body was found in a dumpster near his apartment on Sunday, four days after he disappeared.
Team-mates and classmates gathered hours after the announcement of the death of Karageorge – a man “remembered as a big guy, with a heart to match”, according to the Columbus Dispatch.
One wrestling team-mate summarized Karageorge’s philosophy in a quote from the movie Lone Survivor, said the Plain Dealer: “Anything in life worth doing is worth overdoing. Moderation is for cowards.” The vigil ended with members of the school marching band performing the Ohio State anthem: Carmen, Ohio.
Before Karageorge disappeared on Wednesday, he sent a text message to his mother that said: “I am sorry if I am an embarrassment, but these concussions have my head all fucked up.”
Susan Karageorge told police her son had suffered several concussions and experienced spells of being extremely confused.
The high-profile deaths of NFL football players including Junior Seau and Dave Duerson have brought increased attention to the risks of repeated head injuries from sports like football and wrestling.
After Karageorge went missing, the Ohio State football team’s physician, Dr Jim Borchers, said he could not comment on the medical care of student athletes. “We are confident in our medical procedures and policies to return athletes to participation following injury or illness,” he said.
Ohio State wrestling coach Tom Ryan told the Dispatch that Karageorge did not have any documented concussions as a wrestler. The school’s athletic department is providing counselors to his team-mates.
Karageorge, a senior, wrestled for the school for three years. He joined the football team as a walk-on this year. At the final home game of the season on Saturday, his photo was posted on a video screen with a request for any information that could help find him.
“The Ohio State University Department of Athletics was shocked and saddened to learn today of the death of student-athlete Kosta Karageorge, a senior from Columbus,” the school said in a statement.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the Karageorge family, and those who knew him, during this most difficult time.”
