Father didn’t seek autopsy in high school player’s death

‘We just thought it was pointless,’ said Tom Orr, Will Orr’s father. ‘We felt confident that it didn’t have anything to do with heat or practicing.’

Will Orr, 16, was a junior on the team that was having its third practice of the year in full pads. He collapsed Aug. 1, a half-hour into practice, and was taken by ambulance to a local hospital, where he died. High temperatures in Dyer, about 30 miles north of Jackson, Tenn., were in the upper 90s when the player collapsed.

‘We think he had some unknown medical condition,’ Tom Orr said. ‘I think it was just a very unfortunate situation.’

He said the school is working on a memorial for his son, including covering his old metal locker with Plexiglas to display his jersey.

Head coach Jason Dyer said coaches were careful not to work the teenage players too hard.

Dyer said it is ‘almost a little comforting’ to know the player’s father didn’t believe Will Orr’s death was heat-related.

‘But it doesn’t change the fact you lost a player,’ Dyer said. ‘There may be some sense of relief, but it’s still like losing a child.’

Authorities have not released the cause of death.