Fabrice Muamba Update: Stable Condition, Showing "Small Signs of Improvement"
By Ty Duffy
HOCM: Dr. Tom Riddington, in the Guardian, believes Muamba’s symptoms resemble hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM), a genetic disorder that causes thickening of the muscle in the heart wall. In elite athletes, it can cause the heart to become too thick, disrupting normal blood flow. The athlete can seem perfectly healthy, before suffering a sudden cardiac arrest. HOCM led to the deaths of basketball players Reggie Lewis and Hank Gathers.
Twitter Troll: Liam Stacey, a 21-year-old biology student, was arrested Sunday night in Swansea for racially themed twitter trolling about Muamba. Stacey tweeted “LOL, Fuck Muamba. He’s dead.” Stacey responded to critics with racist comments before claiming his twitter account had been hacked and trying to delete it. He could face a possible prison sentence.
Background: For those unfamiliar with Muamba…He’s a 23-year-old central midfielder, originally from Zaire. He emigrated to England when his father was granted political asylum in 1999. He played for Arsenal at youth level and became a regular starter for Birmingham City, first on loan and then on a permanent deal, before moving to Bolton in 2008 when Birmingham was relegated. He has been capped at every youth level for England, though not for the senior national team.
[Photo via Getty]