The University of Hawaii on Friday announced the death of 21-year-old linebacker Scheyenne Sanitoa.
Sanitoa died Thursday, according to a university statement. No cause of death was given.
“Scheyenne was a tremendous young man, and we are devastated by this news,” university athletics director David Matlin said in a statement on Friday. “It’s always heartbreaking to lose a member of our UH ‘ohana, particularly when it’s one of our young student-athletes.”
The Hawaii football program announced Sanitoa’s passing on social media Friday afternoon: “It’s with deep sorrow that we share the tragic news that Scheyenne Sanitoa passed away yesterday at the age of 21. Scheyenne was a tremendous young man and we are all devastated. Our deepest thoughts and prayers are with his family, his friends, his teammates, and to all those who knew and loved him.”
The team met Friday to discuss Sanitoa’s death, and campus counselors were at the meeting and will continue to be available to the team, according to Matlin. The team is on break this week from its summer conditioning program.
The redshirt junior who hailed from Fagatogo, American Samoa, appeared in eight games last season and recorded 30 tackles and two sacks. He played once during the 2017 season and assisted on one tackle.
