# Collier passes away



## VCFORTHREE15 (Jul 19, 2005)

An apparent heart attack, but not yet confirmed. Although this man may have been battling for minutes, everyone should at least send out their thoughts and prayers to his wife and family.  

Collier Passes Away


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## UD40 (May 12, 2005)

Just read about this, sad thing. He was only 28

RIP


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## Brian34Cook (Mar 26, 2003)

Wow that's very sad.. RIP Jason!!


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## Real (Aug 3, 2005)

Yes, RIP Jason.

I think he was an Atlanta guy too, went to Georgia Tech, I'm sure the ATL basketball community is mourning


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## Mrdectown (May 28, 2005)

Man that hurts. He was very young. He will allways be a Yellow Jacket in my heart. R.I.P Collier


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## Turkish Delight (Mar 17, 2004)

R.I.P


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## JT (Mar 1, 2004)

terrible. rest in peace jason.


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## RP McMurphy (Jul 17, 2003)

That's awful, you hate to log in in the morning and read this.


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## GNG (Aug 17, 2002)

This truly is horrible. I remember following him during his college career.

RIP Jason.


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## bigbabyjesus (Mar 1, 2003)

Prayers go out to his baby girl and his pregnant wife. How unfortunate.

R.I.P.


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## supermati (Mar 28, 2005)

vigilante said:


> Prayers go out to his baby girl and his pregnant wife. How unfortunate.
> 
> R.I.P.


oh... so sad..
Poor Jason


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## lempbizkit (Dec 25, 2003)

Just terrible news. RIP.


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## ralaw (Feb 24, 2005)

Rawse said:


> This truly is horrible. I remember following him during his college career.
> 
> RIP Jason.


Same here. I actually had been following his career since his freshman year at Indiana. This really hit me hard.


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## musiclexer (Aug 30, 2005)

RIP...

I know this is totally out of line, but whos the hawks starting center ?


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## Stefan Nellemoes (Apr 9, 2005)

Nets fan here, living in Denmark..

That won't stop me from sending my condolence and deepest sympathy, to his family, friends, teammates and the entire Atlanta Hawks organization.

This is a very sad moment, no 28 year old human being should die at such a young age.


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## -33- (Aug 6, 2002)

Sad to hear...

R.I.P.


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## sMaK (Jun 13, 2002)

Horrible news.

RIP


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## Raptorsfan2 (Jul 16, 2005)

Brian34Cook said:


> Wow that's very sad.. RIP Jason!!


It is with great regret that I have read today of the passing of Jason Collier.As a basketball fan I would like to extend my sympathy to his family, friends ,the Hawks basketball team, and fans.
I was a big fan of Jason Coolier.He always played clean, fundamental basketball,at least the times that I have seen him play in TORONTO the last couple of years.I always thought that this guy had a lot of potential.Sadly I will never see him play again.

GOD bless you Jason Collier.


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## FreeMason Jr. (Jul 12, 2004)

He was so young...R.I.P.


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## tdizzle (Apr 12, 2003)

*Atlanta Hawks Statement on the Death of Jason Collier* (10-15-05)



> The Atlanta Spirit family is saddened to report the sudden passing of Hawks center Jason Collier, 28, this morning.
> 
> “Jason and his family are first and foremost in our prayers during this difficult time,” said Hawks Executive Vice President and General Manager Billy Knight. “Jason was a devoted family man who deeply loved his wife Katie, daughter Elezan (Ella), his parents and siblings. He was also a tremendous friend to the Hawks employees who spent time with him, and a hard-working and dedicated teammate to many NBA players over his five seasons in the league. We will truly miss Jason’s personality and his spirit, and he will be in the thoughts and minds of our team and organization forever.”
> 
> ...


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## sheefo13 (Jul 13, 2002)

My friend/ Neighbor who was two years younger than me died for the same reason last Friday...  

RIP Jason Collier.


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## kamego (Dec 29, 2003)

what a horrible day for basketball.


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## Scinos (Jun 10, 2003)

I was stunned to read about this. Man, only 28...that's real sad. :no:


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## Pejavlade (Jul 10, 2004)

R.i.p


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## whiterhino (Jun 15, 2003)

i just heard this on the news and had to log on and send my condolences.....this is really sad, only 28 years old, way way too young to die. My thoughts are with his family, teamates, friends and Atlanta fans. So sorry to hear this news.


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## ATLien (Jun 18, 2002)

Wow. This is stunning news.

May he rest in peace.


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## ZÆ (Aug 1, 2005)

sheefo13 said:


> My friend/ Neighbor who was two years younger than me died for the same reason last Friday...
> 
> RIP Jason Collier.


your friend was only 14?


R.I.P to Jason, verry sad.


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## FanOfAll8472 (Jun 28, 2003)

Sad, sad news.


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## ATLien (Jun 18, 2002)

Second-year Hawks Josh Smith, Josh Childress and Donta Smith were admiring rap songs on each other's cell phones after practice Friday, when Collier jokingly asked if anybody had Lynyrd Skynyrd for a ring tone.

"He was a down-low comedian," Hawks captain Al Harrington said with tears in his eyes. "He always had a joke for something that you couldn't hear unless you were sitting right next to him. He was a hilarious dude. And it's crazy to me to think we'll never see him again."

Harrington shared a corner in the Hawks locker room with Collier. He and guard Tony Delk took the news of Collier's death especially hard.

Delk said his and Collier's wives talked frequently and that their daughters played together often.

"Jason was just a different dude," Delk said. "He lived out by Lake Lanier and nobody else on the team lives out that way. He used to talk about how his commute took forever. But he loved being by the lake."

Good memories, Delk said, is all he has now.

"Guys can come back from an illness or an injury," Delk said. "But Jason isn't coming back from this. When you realize that his wife [Katie] and daughter [Ella] have just lost a husband and father, you realize how fragile life is. That's the thing that hits you so hard. I'm a husband and father too. And when something like this happens you realize that nothing is guaranteed."


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## Unique (Apr 13, 2005)

R.I.P 

Guess this shows us that we should really realize we can go at any time and we should take advantage of every day we are given.


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## Peja Vu (Jun 9, 2002)

So, so sad.

R.I.P.


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## SoCalfan21 (Jul 19, 2004)

RP McMurphy said:


> That's awful, you hate to log in in the morning and read this.


ditto. RIP


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## nutmeged3 (Apr 11, 2005)

RIP

good luck to the collier family


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## KoBe & BeN GoRdOn! (Aug 4, 2005)

SOOOOOOOO sad


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## ChristopherJ (Aug 10, 2004)

Anyways so sad to see something like this happen, the man had a wife, a little girl....very sad.


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## RP McMurphy (Jul 17, 2003)

Hawks honor Collier before win over Hornets



> NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) -- Joe Johnson's latest return to Arkansas was a more somber occasion than usual. He and the Atlanta Hawks are still struggling to cope with the recent death of teammate Jason Collier.
> 
> "It's been tough, man. It's been tough," Johnson said. "But we've found ways to get through it."
> 
> ...














> The shoes and jersey of Atlanta Hawks center Jason Collier sit at the entrance of the Hawks locker room in North Little Rock, Ark., Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2005. Collier died on Saturday, Oct. 15, 2005, after he had trouble breathing in his north Georgia home. The Hawks are in Arkansas to play the New Orleans Hornets in a preseason game.
> (AP Photo/David Quinn)
> October 18, 2005


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## Sean (Jun 7, 2002)

*Autopsy Shows Collier Had Enlarged Heart*

Nov 1, 4:40 PM (ET)

By CHARLES ODUM

DECATUR, Ga. (AP) - Atlanta Hawks center Jason Collier died from a sudden heart rhythm disturbance caused by an abnormally enlarged heart, an autopsy showed.

The state's chief medical examiner, Dr. Kris Sperry, said his testing showed that electrocardiograms administered to Collier in 2003 and this year showed "some indication of electrical abnormalities."

"Looking at them now, and in retrospect in knowing what's going on with his heart, the abnormalities may have been associated with what we found in examining his heart," Sperry said.

He said that he had no evidence that the 28-year-old Collier was informed there was anything wrong with his heart. Collier's wife said he had never been told of a reason for concern, Sperry said.

Collier's father, Jeff, did not immediately return a phone message left at his Springfield, Ohio, home seeking comment Tuesday. He told The Associated Press after his son's death that his son did not have any diagnosed health problems besides past injuries to his knees.

The 7-foot Collier, who played at Georgia Tech, was with the Hawks for two years after spending three years with the Houston Rockets. He died after having trouble breathing in his suburban Atlanta home.

Sperry indicated that the family has concerns about the medical tests in 2003 and 2005 and "when we get all the findings back I think the family will have some of those examined in closer detail, based upon the results."

Sperry did not say that the Hawks or Rockets were negligent in clearing Collier to play in the NBA.

He said an enlarged heart can be very difficult to detect, especially due to Collier's size. But he said the player's heart "was above the accepted limits, even for a man of his size."

He said the organ was about one and a half times the size it should have been.

"We have the unfortunate advantage of taking the heart out and weighing it," Sperry said.

Sperry also said that the electrical abnormalities could have been a reason for further testing.

"If it were me, I would have wanted more studies done to clarify what those abnormalities meant in light of the fact Jason was an athlete," he said.

The autopsy was conducted by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which performs all Forsyth County autopsies, GBI spokesman John Bankhead said.

The Hawks left Atlanta on Tuesday for Oakland, where they open their season Wednesday night against the Golden State Warriors.

The players are wearing black shoulder patches on their uniforms to honor Collier, who was a part-time starter. He began his college career at Indiana before transferring to Georgia Tech.

The Hawks will leave Collier's uniform in his locker through the season.

http://sports.iwon.com/news/11012005/v6587.html


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## ATLien (Jun 18, 2002)

*Re: Autopsy Shows Collier Had Enlarged Heart*

They said that his heart was 70% larger than the average man's.


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## BULLS23 (Apr 13, 2003)

*Re: Autopsy Shows Collier Had Enlarged Heart*



TheATLien said:


> They said that his heart was 70% larger than the average man's.



Damn, I hurt for his family. God bless them.


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