The father of Roswell High School quarterback Robbie Roper, who died last year at age 18, said his son suffered from a neglected disease that killed him tragically.
The star athlete died from shoulder surgery in December, as initially reported. However, in an interview with USA TODAY Sports published Wednesday, his father, James Roper, said doctors missed an illness.
“I just want him to be remembered as a perfect kid. I just don’t want anyone thinking of him as abnormal,” he said when asked why he waited so long to address the cause of his son’s death. James said.
James told the news outlet that, according to UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, the 2022 college football recruit has urea cycle disorder (UCD), a rare genetic condition that causes elevated ammonia levels in the blood, which can lead to Gotta be poisonous.
Roper family attorney Patrick Moore told USA TODAY Sports that the disease could have been triggered by corticosteroids and possibly by surgery — “before fasting, anesthesia and physical trauma.” Robbie underwent shoulder surgery on Dec. 14. surgery. He died eight days later.
In an interview with USA TODAY Sports, Robbie Roper’s father revealed his son has a neglected disease.
Robbie Ropper is a 6-foot-4, 215-pound, dual-threat quarterback with a 3.9 GPA. He led the Hornets to a 10-3 record in 2021, but lost to Grayson in the Class 7A quarterfinals.
On Nov. 19, Roper led Roswell to a 46-43 road victory over North Cobb at High 5 Sports this week.
247 Sports listed Roper has offers to play college football at Massachusetts, Morehead State, Morgan State and Western Carolina, with interest from other schools. He recently received interest from the University of Florida.
Other colleges interested in the high schooler include Ole Miss, Pittsburgh, Connecticut, TCU, Michigan and North Carolina.