In what the school describes as “a tragic incident,” 20-year-old Nathan Tyler Valencia passed away on Tuesday, four days after participating in the Kappa Sigma fraternity’s “Fight Night” on the 19th. November.
According to an online flyer for the event, Valencia was one of the boxers participating in the card’s “main event,” but family attorney Nick Lasso told CNN Sunday that the mechanical zoology student The department had no prior boxing experience outside of school. charity.
Valencia fell “immediately after his game,” according to an online letter sent to the campus community from UNLV President Keith Whitfield.
He was hospitalized after collapsing and died on November 23, just four days before his 21st birthday, according to Lasso.
“Kappa Sigma Fraternity is deeply saddened by the passing of Nathan Valencia at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas,” fraternity executive director Mitchell B. Wilson told CNN in an email Sunday. “Our deepest condolences, thoughts and prayers are with the Valencia family and the entire UNLV community.”
Valencia is a member of UNLV’s Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and not the Kappa Sigma organization that organized the event, according to Lasso.
According to an online flyer for the match, the event was a fundraiser for Center Ring Boxing, a Las Vegas-based organization that organizes youth boxing programs for children in the area. and their families.
In a statement to CNN, Lasso said his law firm will conduct “a full investigation” into the promotion, safety protocols, actions and medical supervision during the November 19 event. held in Las Vegas, the hometown of Valencia.
KTNV said the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department has opened an investigation into the incident. Police officials did not return calls from CNN Sunday night.
“The Valencia family is heartbroken over the loss of Nathan… College students should not be put in a situation where they have to be pitted against each other for a fight,” said a statement from Lasso and Ryan Zimmer of the Law Firm. Richard Harris writes. “The family wants to make sure this never happens again, that’s the main focus,” Lasso told CNN by phone Sunday.
“We are shocked and heartbroken as we mourn the loss of one of us,” Whitfield said in a letter to the UNLV community. “Our deepest sympathies go out to his family, friends and loved ones. I’m sure words cannot describe their feelings of grief and emptiness.” the school principal added.
A vigil for Valencia was held on the UNLV campus on Saturday evening.
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