ENID — A mix of several pain medications contributed to the accidental death of University of Oklahoma linebacker and former Enid standout Austin Box, an Oklahoma Medical Examiner’s Office report revealed Tuesday.

Saying their son endured many injuries during his athletic career, the parents of Box, 22, said he continued to battle back from injuries when his team needed him.

“It is with much sadness we look back and see that recently Austin had turned to other methods of managing his pain,” Craig and Gail Box said in a statement. “Our greatest regret is that Austin did not feel he could share his pain with those who loved him, and those he touched. He chose to suffer in silence rather than to feel he let someone down, or hurt his family.

“There is no greater pain than the loss of a child. The pain is intensified by knowing that the death of your child could have been prevented.”

Oklahoma Medical Examiner’s Office said Box had five painkillers and an anti-anxiety drug in his system at the time of his death two months ago.

A report from the office lists Box’s death as accidental and cites the probable cause of his death as pulmonary edema, or fluid in the lungs, and aspiration pneumonia, an inflammation of the lungs caused by inhaling foreign substances. The report also lists “chronic pain history” and “cardiomegaly,” or enlargement of the heart, as “other significant medical conditions.”

The report states the pulmonary edema and aspiration pneumonia could be due to central nervous system depression and probable mixed-drug toxicity. It also lists the five pain medication drugs — oxymorphone, morphine, hydrocodone, hydromorphone and oxycodon  — could have contributed to the star linebacker’s death. He also had Alprazolam, an anti-anxiety medication, in his system.

Box was found unresponsive May 19 at the El Reno home of J.T. Cobble, one of Box’s former Enid High School assistant coaches.

According to an El Reno Police Department report, Cobble called 911 at 9:22 a.m. May 19 and reported finding Box unresponsive. Emergency responders were dispatched and arrived three minutes after the call.

Cobble told El Reno Officer Todd Ward he believed Box had overdosed. Box was taken to the El Reno hospital by ambulance and later flown to Mercy Hospital in Oklahoma City, where he died at 1:03 p.m.

Medical Examiner’s Office spokeswoman Cherokee Ballard said Tuesday she did not have a specific date the full report would be released, saying it could be one or two more months before it is released.



Reaction



In their statement, Craig and Gail Box talked about their son’s struggles with injuries during his high school and college athletic career.

“Our son endured many injuries during the last seven years of his life, most of them required surgery,” the statement reads. “The last was the most frightening for him.”

In August 2010, Box had a disc rupture in his back, causing him to lose feeling in his left foot. However, Box was able to return to field after missing five games and help the Sooners end their season with a 12-2 record, a 48-20 win over Connecticut in the Fiesta Bowl and a No. 6 AP ranking.

“We were certain his career was over,” his parents’ statement read. “As always though, he battled back when he saw the team needed him.”

They said they hoped others could learn from what happened, and “they will see this tragic accident as a message and think about the consequences.”

Mark Rountree, former sports editor for the News & Eagle, said while he didn’t have much of a comment on the toxicology report, it’s hard for most people to understand what an athlete of Box’s caliber goes through day in and day out.

“Athletes, when they get to that high level of competition ... what they put their bodies through to be able to compete, the average person has no idea,” Rountree said.



Investigations



El Reno Police Chief Ken Brown said an investigation has begun to determine where Box acquired the drugs found in his system.

“We are in contact with Norman Police Department, as well as DEA Office of Diversion, to try and identify what in fact he was prescribed and what he wasn’t,” Brown said. “We knew he had undergone several surgeries, medical procedures, where narcotics commonly would have been issued.”

Brown said investigators at his department had received the report Tuesday and were conducting a follow-up investigation.

“At the surface, we don’t know whether that was prescribed by a doctor or something obtained by other means,” Brown said. “We should know something by next week.”

Kenny Mossman, OU senior associate athletics director, said he did not think there would be an investigation by the athletic department concerning Box’s death.

“We’ve got a good knowledge base on Austin’s treatment, just as we would on any student’s treatment, and at this point I don’t think there’ll be a need for an investigation,” Mossman said.

He said he couldn’t comment on a specific student-athlete’s need for medical attention records because of privacy standards but did explain the procedures.

“Student-athletes requiring the services of a doctor are referred to one of the team physicians by the OU Athletics training staff,” he said. “If the student-athlete accepts that referral, those physicians then develop a typical doctor-patient relationship with the student-athlete.

“Unless the patient refuses the sharing of that interaction, and very few do, the training staff is kept apprised of the treatment. The doctor also remains available on an ongoing basis.”

Mossman also said any student-athlete receiving a prescription does so from the physician and is counseled with respect to its usage.

“We do not expect an inquiry from the NCAA relative to this matter,” he said.

Mossman said student-athletes undergo several levels of drug testing: one through the school, another through the NCAA and a third through the Big 12 Conference.

He said the university’s drug-screenings are mandatory for all student-athletes and random drug screenings are conducted.

“There’s some level of notice,” he said, “but it’s not lengthy.”



Staff Writer Joe Malan contributed to this story.