{"id":163710,"date":"2026-02-13T21:17:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T21:17:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/163710\/"},"modified":"2026-02-13T21:17:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T21:17:12","slug":"nisd-identifies-16-year-old-stevens-hs-football-player-who-died-after-passing-out-during-athletic-practice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/163710\/","title":{"rendered":"NISD identifies 16-year-old Stevens HS football player who died after passing out during athletic practice"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN ANTONIO \u2013 The Northside Independent School District (NISD) has officially identified a 16-year-old Stevens High School football player who died<\/a> early Wednesday after he passed out during an offseason athletic practice.<\/p>\n

An NISD spokesperson identified the teen as Jaren Lawson in a Friday morning email to KSAT. <\/p>\n

\u201cNorthside ISD remains deeply saddened by the loss of Jaren Lawson. Our primary focus continues to be supporting Jaren\u2019s family, the students, and the staff at Stevens High School during this difficult time,\u201d the spokesperson said. <\/p>\n

Lawson was assessed by athletic trainers and hospitalized after passing out Tuesday. A coach accompanied the teen to the hospital, though he died shortly after midnight Wednesday. The district said an investigation is underway. <\/p>\n

In Friday\u2019s email, NISD dispelled allegations made to KSAT that a coach at the high school had allegedly made Lawson participate in a prolonged exercise after the teen said he wasn\u2019t feeling well.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur ongoing investigation has found ZERO evidence that these allegations are true,\u201d NISD said Friday.<\/p>\n

The district also noted that its early findings did not indicate Lawson informed coaching staff of \u201can inability to participate in practice.\u201d The spokesperson said the coaching staff reminded Lawson he could opt out of the exercise, even acknowledging they knew he had been ill the day before.<\/p>\n

NISD said it did not find evidence Lawson was denied access to water during the practice.<\/p>\n

\u201cNorthside ISD is committed to a transparent and exhaustive investigation,\u201d the district spokesperson said. \u201cWe ask for the community\u2019s continued patience as we work to verify every detail, ensuring that all final conclusions are based on a complete and accurate record of events.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lawson\u2019s cause of death is pending from the Bexar County Medical Examiner\u2019s Office. <\/p>\n

In a letter to the school community, Stevens High School Principal Ryan Purtell said the school is \u201cfully dedicated to providing the necessary emotional support and resources for our students, staff, and families during this time of mourning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Purtell also said counselors and support staff are on-site to help students.<\/p>\n

Read Purtell\u2019s full letter below:<\/p>\n

Falcon Family,<\/p>\n

It is with deep sadness and a heavy heart that I write to share that our school community has experienced loss within our student body. We recognize that news of this magnitude impacts every individual differently, and we are fully dedicated to providing the necessary emotional support and resources for our students, staff, and families during this time of mourning.<\/p>\n

While classroom instruction will continue to provide a sense of stability and routine, we anticipate that the coming days will be challenging as we process this loss together. For many of our students, this may be their first experience with death, and they may look to the adults in their lives for guidance on how to navigate their emotions.<\/p>\n

Grief manifests in many ways, and it is common for individuals to experience a variety of emotional and physical responses. You may notice your child exhibiting:<\/p>\n

Please know that our counselors and support staff are on-site and ready to help navigate these complex feelings. We are committed to supporting your family through this journey, and we encourage you to reach out if your child needs extra care.<\/p>\n

Sincerely,<\/p>\n

Ryan Purtell<\/p>\n

Principal<\/p>\n

Ryan Purtell, Stevens High School Principal<\/p>\n

Read more:<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 by KSAT – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN ANTONIO \u2013 The Northside Independent School District (NISD) has officially identified a 16-year-old Stevens High School football…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":163711,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[163,16868,82,84,83,66113],"class_list":{"0":"post-163710","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-antonio","8":"tag-education","9":"tag-nisd","10":"tag-san-antonio","11":"tag-san-antonio-headlines","12":"tag-san-antonio-news","13":"tag-stevens-high-school"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163710","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=163710"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163710\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/163711"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=163710"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=163710"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=163710"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}