Players, coaches and family members at a Las Vegas youth football tournament had to deal with an unexpected obstacle over the weekend, as roughly 90 people were affected by what is being described as a “nasty” stomach virus. Tournament organizers for the championship games say the illness began spreading after a couple of children were sick.
“It started with a team telling us they had a couple of sick kids, which frankly happens every single year,” Justin Gates, the competition director for the group that organizes the National Youth Football Championships, told NBC News. “We didn’t think much about it on Wednesday night until we started getting reports later Thursday of more people on different teams being affected.”
Gates said several players, parents and coaches later reported that they were throwing up and dealing with other flu-like symptoms. By Friday night, the virus was affecting dozens of people. Officer Fernandez J. Leary said that 21 people were evaluated at the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino, where they were staying. Of those 21, 18 were transported to a local hospital for treatment.
While some initially feared that food poisoning was the issue, emergency room doctors ruled that out and identified that the illness was the result of a “nasty stomach virus.” Officials have continued to investigate the outbreak, while Gates said the championship games are being held as scheduled.
“Luckily as strong as it is, the harder it comes on the quicker it goes,” Gates said.
Roughly 7,000 people were on-hand for the games, so there were plenty of people who were able to avoid coming down with the illness. Event organizers have banned traditional handshakes before and after games to avoid spreading the virus further.
