Twelve Iowa Hawkeye Football players were admitted to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics on Monday night.
The Cedar Rapids Gazette reported that the 12 players are suffering from a kidney ailment known as exertional rhabdomyolysis, which is a breakdown of muscle fibers that releases myoglobin into the bloodstream. This is reportedly caused by excessive exercise and can lead to kidney failure.
Iowa has released two university statements, an initial statement and a follow-up clarification statement.
"The student-athletes were admitted throughout the course of Monday evening. All of the individuals are responding well to treatment as of Tuesday morning. All are in safe and stable condition," said a University of Iowa staff physician.
It is not clear when the athletes will be discharged from the hospital, but the statements have said it will be handled on a case-by-case basis.
“The Hawkeye football players admitted to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics were all participating in NCAA allowable winter workouts. The symptoms, for which the student-athletes are being treated, are likely related to those workouts.”
Freshman linebacker Jim Poggi, junior defensive back Jordan Bernstine and freshman linebacker Shane DiBona all had Facebook statuses in the past week that addressed how difficult their football workouts had been, which the Gazette reported included 100 squats followed by sled work.
"Coach Kirk Ferentz is out of town recruiting, but he is aware of the situation and is being kept abreast of the progress being made," said Iowa's director of athletics, Gary Barta in the released statement. "Our No. 1 concern is the safety of our student-athletes, so we are pleased with the positive feedback. Our next step is to find out what happened so we can avoid this happening in the future."
