20-Year-Old University of Wisconsin Whitewater Basketball Player Dies Unexpectedly

UW-Whitewater basketball player Derek Gray died unexpectedly Sunday at the age of 20.

“Gray was a member of the UW-Whitewater basketball team for two years. He was named third team D3hoops.com all-region, first team all-WIAC and three-team WIAC player of the week, last season,” TMJ4 reports.

UW-Whitewater basketball player Derek Gray, dead "unexpectedly" at 20…

Gray was a member of the UW-Whitewater basketball team for two years…

Named third team D3hoops all-region, first team all-WIAC and three-team WIAC player of the week, last season…

– tmj4

— Dr. James E. Olsson (@DrJamesOlsson) July 27, 2022

Truth is Pain.

UW-Whitewater basketball player dies unexpectedly https://t.co/xTaQEJqFo4

— 🔬 ))ay( 🚴‍ (@jjcouey) July 28, 2022

“Words cannot describe how we all feel about the loss of Derek,” UW-Whitewater Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Ryan Callahan said in a statement on the university’s website.

“He was an amazing young man with a bright future. My heart goes out to his family and all that were fortunate enough to get to know Derek.”

Warhawk Nation mourns the loss of Derek Gray, a student-athlete on the Warhawk men's basketball team, who passed away unexpectedly on July 24th, 2022, playing the game he loved. pic.twitter.com/gHkyMr23NP

— Warhawk Athletics (@UWWAthletics) July 26, 2022

TMJ4 reported:

Gray was on pace to graduate in 2024, he was majoring in psychology and minoring in criminology.

In honor of Derek, UW-Whitewater will fly a flag at half-staff on Friday.

“Derek was beloved and respected by his teammates for his unique ability to develop meaningful connections with every individual throughout our program. He was an intelligent, compassionate, and inquisitive person by nature,” said Pat Miller, head men’s basketball coach, on the university’s website. “I’ll forever cherish our long talks about life, community, basketball and the various issues of our day.”

News 3 Now aired this video report:

UW-Whitewater does not have a university-wide campus mandate.

However, they encourage students “to stay up-to-date on your vaccinations, wear a mask if you choose and stay healthy in general.”

Considering the enormous amount of athletes to die ‘suddenly,’ the elephant in the room remains if the student-athlete took the experimental COVID-19 shot.

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