Congress Wants To Know: How Did Jersey Shore Football Player Die?

NEPTUNE, NJ — All 12 New Jersey members of the US House of Representatives want to know: How did Braeden Bradforth die?

All 12 New Jersey members of the House of Representatives want a Kansas college to open an independent investigation into the death of 19 year-old Bradforth from Neptune.

In a letter to Garden City Community College President Ryan Ruda, the members say they want an investigation “on behalf of Braeden’s surviving family members and friends from our state."

“Our New Jersey community mourns Braeden’s untimely death and there are significant unanswered questions," according to the letter. "An external, independent investigation offers the only way to assure transparency for investigating the past while looking ahead to prevent future tragedies."

Read more: Monmouth County Mom Wants Answers For Son's Football Death

Bradforth was a 19 year-old football player from Neptune High School who received a football scholarship to the Garden City, Kansas college in June of 2018.

On his second day on campus, August 1, he was taken to the hospital after evening football practice and died shortly thereafter. An autopsy later determined his cause of death to be exertional heat stroke, according to Rep. Chris Smith's office.

Braeden’s mother, Joanne Atkins-Ingram, has tried to obtain information from the college about her son’s death but the school has not provided it to her, she says.

Also, she says, college officials have not met with her in person. The school claims it conducted an internal review of Braeden’s death, but has not shared the review with Braeden’s mother.

“We want a meeting between President Ruda and Ms. Atkins-Ingram to take place, but for that to happen there must be complete transparency by the school where she can receive answers to all her questions about her son’s death,” Smith said. “It is astonishing to me that nearly nine months after Braeden’s death, Joanne has not been informed of what exactly happened to her son on the night of August 1.”

Rep. Smith met with Joanne-Atkins Ingram and subsequently wrote President Ruda on March 22, requesting an external independent investigation into Braeden’s death. Such an investigation should include a review of the school’s policies and protocols for athlete health and safety and its emergency action plan, and whether or not those policies were followed the night of Braeden’s death, he said.

Smith personally requested that Ruda meet in person with Joanne and share the school’s entire internal review with her,. Although the college initially agreed to the meeting, a lawyer for the college later determined that the internal review would not be discussed at the meeting. The meeting was subsequently postponed.

Patch wrote about Bradforth's death when it first happened last August: August 1, 2018 was Braeden's third day on campus at Garden City Community College in Garden City, Kansas. It was the very beginning of freshman year and Braeden was there for pre-season, having just won a scholarship a month earlier to play for the small school that was eager to develop its football program, according to Smith's office.

That night, at about 9:45 p.m., Braeden suddenly collapsed in his dorm room after evening football practice and was found unresponsive. He died a few hours later at a local hospital.

Bradforth may have had a blood clot that likely traveled to his heart, causing a heart attack, the team's head coach, Jeff Sims, was quoted as saying in Sports Illustrated. Bradforth was 6 foot, 4 inches tall, and 305 pounds, and had been recruited as a lineman.