The day before he was found dead at his home in Las Vegas, former University of Kentucky offensive lineman Ben Christman complained of chest pains.
On Thursday, the Clark County (Nevada) Office of the Coroner/Medical Examiner released Christman’s cause of death as “cardiac arrhythmia, cardiomyopathy.”
Both are forms of sudden cardiac arrest.Ben Christman, former University of Kentucky lineman, cause of death released by coronerThe senior recently transferred from Kentucky to play for the University of Nevada – Las Vegas.
He died Feb. 11. During practice the day before, he complained of chest pains, according to a police incident report obtained by The Courier Journal through an open records request. Christman had an EKG and saw the team’s cardiologist, who said everything looked normal, according to a member of the team interviewed by police.
Christman would have turned 22 on Feb. 12.
Christman began his college career at Ohio State before joining UK, missing the 2023 season with a knee injury. In 2024, he appeared in 12 games with the Wildcats, primarily on special teams. He graduated from UK with honors and obtained a bachelor’s degree in communications, according to his obituary. He entered the transfer portal on Dec. 6 to join the Runnin’ Rebels.
When Christman didn’t show up for practice on Feb. 11, several teammates went to his home to get him.
An incident report from the Las Vegas Metro Police Department shows at least two teammates and a graduate assistant coach took turns delivering CPR to Christman upon directions from the Las Vegas Fire Department. The fire department estimated Christman died “a few hours” before his teammates arrived.
We are all at a loss right now hearing about the passing of Ben Christman,” UK coach Mark Stoops said in a statement on Feb. 12. “He was a player who came in every day and went to work. He was tough as nails on the field but off the field he was a gentle and kind soul.”
In April 2023, The Courier Journal published a national-award-winning series, Safer Sidelines, that took an in-depth look at sudden death in youth sports and the struggle to assure every athlete has a fighting chance when the worst happens
