Norfolk, Va. - Norfolk State's women's basketball player Amber Brown is hospitalized in a coma after being found unresponsive in her dorm room on New Year’s Day.
The junior forward is being treated at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital and remains in critical condition.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Kwon Alexander posted a plea for prayer:
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help pay for the Atlanta native’s care.
Brown's older sister, Ebony, also played basketball for Norfolk State.
She tells NewsChannel 3 that they believe Amber's incident was caused by her diabetes.
"We're just hoping and praying for the best and right now every second and every day counts for her," she says. "She's known for her bubbly personality and her positive, outgoing spirit. She's always the funny one in the crowd."
She says her teammates found her in a dorm room about a day after her incident.
Norfolk State University Director of Athletics Marty L. Miller released the following statement Thursday:
“Everyone in the NSU Athletics Department and the entire University community is deeply concerned for the health of Amber Brown, who was recently hospitalized for treatment of a serious medical condition. Amber is a tremendous student-athlete who has made positive contributions on and off the court for our women’s basketball program. Our thoughts and prayers are with her and her entire family during this difficult time, and we will continue to support them in any manner that we can.”
The NSU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee collected monetary donations for the Brown family at the men’s basketball game against Princeton this past Tuesday and will continue to accept donations at all remaining home basketball games in the month of January.
"She's like the mother of the team, she takes care of everybody," says Debra Clark, NSU Women's Basketball Head Coach. "It's tough anytime we're missing a team member, but times like this, I think the team has come closer together. They have a little bit more to play for now."
Ebony says Amber's teammates have also started to raise awareness about diabetes.
She describes the support from NSU as overwhelming and wonderful.
"Her prayers are truly working and every prayer counts, just like every day counts, and we won't stop praying, we're going to keep hoping for the best, the very best."
The next NSU Women's Basketball home game is on Saturday at 4 p.m.
