Twelve Iowa football players are in stable condition after being admitted to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics Monday, Iowa Sports Information confirmed Tuesday afternoon.
A second university release said the symptoms the student-athletes are being treated for were likely related to winter workouts — which are permitted by the NCAA.
Former Iowa defensive end Adrian Clayborn and current defensive end Broderick Binns and defensive back Jordan Bernstine recently made comments on Facebook regarding workouts.
“Them boys have 100 squads [sic] and sled pushes!” Clayborn wrote in a status update. “I’m throwing up thinking about it.”
Bernstine wrote that it was “hands down the hardest workout I’ve ever had in my life.”
“The hardest thing I’ve ever done,” wrote Bernstine, a junior. “This is crazy. There was just bodies everywhere after.”
“My back ain’t never felt like this …” Binns’ comment read. “It hurts to even sit up, let alone move …”
There is no confirmation that Binns nor Bernstine were among those hospitalized.
Both a UIHC staff physician and a team physician said the 12 hospitalized student-athletes were responding well to treatment as of Tuesday morning.
“All are in safe and stable condition,” the UIHC physician said. “At this time, we are not sure when any of the individuals will be discharged. Hospital discharges will be on a case-by-case basis.”
Athletics Director Gary Barta said head football coach Kirk Ferentz is out of the area recruiting — national signing day is Feb. 2, and Iowa can claim 19 oral and one written commitment in its 2011 recruiting class.
Still, Ferentz “is aware of the situation and is being kept abreast of the progress being made.”
“Our No. 1 concern is the safety of our student-athletes, so we are pleased with the positive feedback,” Barta said in a release. “Our next step is to find out what happened so we can avoid this happening in the future.”
The UI said no identities or individual medical conditions of the student-athletes will be released.
Hospitals cannot release information about patients without their written consent under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, unless a serious risk of injury to themselves or others is present, or the release is court-mandated.
“The University of Iowa football program is committed to providing the ultimate training experience for each student-athlete,” reads the UI’s official athletics website. “Our focus is to build the total athlete while reducing the risk of injury through individual evaluation and program design. Developing strong relationships with each athlete is a fundamental building block essential to the success of Iowa football.”