Family Of Late Massachusetts College Soccer Player Advocates For Health Exam Changes

By Paul Burton, CBS Boston

September 9, 2024

FRAMINGHAM - JJ Facey was a star on the soccer field and a champion in the classroom and in his community. Now the family of the 18-year-old is heartbroken but determined. "JJ was bright. He was a kindhearted person. Although he was very athletic and competitive, he was also humble and championed the success of others," his father Jason Facey said.

The freshman at Framingham State University died earlier this month shortly after his first college soccer practice. On the way back to the dorm he began to complain about shortness of breath.

"He was walking and ending up getting picked up by a senior but then he had a seizure in the car, and things snowballed," Jason Facey said. "And we were given a diagnosis of HOCM, which is a malady of the heart, which enlarged the walls in his heart and didn't allow his heart to appropriately pump blood to his organs."

JJ Facey, a freshman at Framingham State University, died after his first college soccer practice/CBS Boston

Click here for the full story via CBS Boston

CBS Local Digital Media personalizes the global reach of CBS-owned and operated television and radio stations with a local perspective.