Penn State running back Journey Brown will retire from football after learning of a serious heart condition, head coach James Franklin announced (Twitter link via Audrey Snyder of The Athletic). Brown, who was once considered to be a potential first-round prospect, was found to have hypertrophic cardiomyopathy while going through COVID-19 testing in September. 
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Brown led the Nittany Lions with 890 yards and 12 touchdowns last year. His strong finish pushed his NFL stock even higher — the 5’11” tailback averaged 118.6 yards per contest over his last five games. In Penn State’s win over Memphis in the Cotton Bowl, Brown went off for 202 yards and two touchdowns with just 16 carries. That will stand as Brown’s final game on the field.
“I finally had the opportunity to showcase what I was born to do and, hopefully, set myself up to achieve my lifelong dream of playing in the NFL,” Brown wrote in a statement. “Unfortunately, the dream will never be realized as I have been diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which will force me to medically retire from the game of football. The pain of not being able to play the game I love anymore hurts and I can’t explain how I am feeling right now.”
We here at PFR wish Brown the best in retirement.
its good that he found out
Wouldn’t it be responsible reporting to mention that while this was discovered during covid testing, it was not a result of covid? I feel like that’s an important detail.
A basic understanding of the English language, along with only a modicum of reading comprehension would tell you that was the case.
Well perhaps someday I will be as educated and smart as you so I can be anonymously condescending on the internet. Something we should all aspire to really. You have set a fine example.
“Wouldn’t it be responsible reporting”. Tell me again who was condescending?
You.
Great comeback RANDOMGUY Who criticized the writer for not spoon feeding him information he could’ve received just by reading the obvious. The hypocrisy is off the charts.
I mean, when I called you out for being condescending you basically responded with with schoolyard classic “I know you are but what am I?” so I guess the comebacks are lacking all around.
And yes, I did criticize the reporting. But I wasn’t a jerk about it, unlike you. It was a fair question, considering other sites have made clear what I was asking about when they reported it. It’s not about being spoon fed, it’s about making sure news sites don’t leave things up to personal interpretation when the clear truth can be presented. Which I feel is important in these times. Maybe you don’t.
You literally implied the writer wasn’t doing his job because he worded it in a way he thought the reader would be smart enough to comprehend while also giving all relevant information, if you or anyone else needs more clarification, thats the fault of the reader.
Yeah we’re just not gonna agree on that one. I think its perfectly reasonable with concern surrounding covid and it’s potential long-term effects, for someone to read that and wonder if it was a result of covid as it was discovered during covid testing, or just a pre-existing condition. As I said, other news sources made the point to specifically state that it was not a result of covid, and I find it odd that this report decided to leave that part out. Whether you can come to conclusion on your own or not is the not the point. Agree to disagree I guess.
We can all agree that you’re reading comprehension is lacking, though. It’s quite clear that his condition was discovered while screening for covid, and otherwise has nothing at all to do with the virus. The thought never even crossed my mind.
Commenting on someone’s reading comprehension while also using the wrong form of “your.” Classic.
shouldn’t that be obvious?
Maybe. I first saw the news on Twitter and reporters on there were making it clear that it was not a result of covid. This article did not, and as it was published on this site well after others had reported it, I can only assume they chose to leave that detail out. I don’t know their intentions, but that could be construed as trying to imply a correlation to covid where there is none.
I also assumed he did not have Covid.
I’ll agree it does come off condescending by insinuating the author isn’t a responsible journalist. However, I’ve not heard of a single case of COVID being related to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy so even though it was found through routine testing, not once did I wonder if it was caused by COVID.
Nobody did. Anyone with multiple brain cells could conclude there is no correlation. Yet, randomguy is up in arms.
Not really. A lot of times medical conditions that are seemingly random result from what would commonly be thought to be an unrelated condition. And this whole bit about “having multiple brain cells” is a sarcastic way of making an assumption about an audience who may make an assumption otherwise.
No, I did not make that assumption, and no, I do not expect that majority of people to either. I also do not consider the writer irresponsible for not mentioning it. However, I do not think it out of the realm of possibility that someone else might or might see the headline including COVID testing and make that assumption. I have seen a lot of misinformation and misunderstanding about COVID and the false conclusions people make regarding its effects. Regardless, the extreme reaction is uncalled for.
I agree with all of the other commenters piling on you. Never once did it cross my mind that his condition was caused by COVID. Your criticism is so bizarre that I needed to read it a few times to even understand what your beef was.
I like Joe Flacci!
would be nice to see a nfl team to pick him up as a undrafted player and to let him retire as a member of that team. I mean he was projected to be drafted so I think it would be a good thing to do
Cool thought! I like the idea.
My condolences to Mr. Brown. It’s a shame to work so long for something, and then have it snatched away.
He was meant for something else. My he find it. Prayers up my man.
My heart goes out to the guy. No pun intended. It has to be demoralizing to have your dream snatched away from you through no fault of your own.
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy — A condition in which the heart muscle becomes abnormally thick, making it hard for the heart to pump blood. It often goes undiagnosed.
Personally, I’m a bit confused how he was able to be successful thus far while having this heart condition. Couldn’t he still play while monitoring his heart?