Ben Siegfried, a former college football player who was the athletic trainer for the St. Louis Battlehawks and D.C. Defenders of the XFL, died on Thursday, the league announced. He was 22 years old. According to Fox 2 St. Louis, Siegfried died at the Battlehawks team hotel. The cause of death has not been announced. Dwyane “The Rock” Johnson, one of the co-owners of the XFL, released a statement on Seigfried’s death.
“So so sorry to hear this devastating news come in earlier today,” Johnson wrote on Twitter. “Sending strength, love, light, and mana to the Siegfried family during this heartbreaking time.We are with you. Stay strong.”
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The XFL also released a statement. “The XFL family mourns the loss of our teammate, Ben Siegfried, who passed away last evening,” the league said. “Ben, a graduate student athletic trainer from Lebanon Valley College working with the XFL Athletic Training Department, was an integral part of preparing our BattleHawks and Defenders for the season. His infectious smile in the locker room and passion for his work will be deeply missed by all the players and staff who had the opportunity to work with him. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.”
Siegfried was a defensive tackle at Lebanon Valley College in Pennsylvania. The school also released a statement on his death. LVC is saddened to learn that Ben Siegfried ’22, M’23 has passed away. A [Lebanon Valley College football] DT, Ben was finishing his master’s degree in athletic training and was doing his clinical training with the XFL. Please keep Ben’s family, loved ones, and friends in your thoughts and prayers.”
The school went on to say that the XFL honored the memory of Seigfried during the two games on Sunday. Lebanon Valley also announced that a campus gathering will be held on Wednesday, Mar. 15 at 6:30 p.m. During his time at Lebanon Valley, Seigfried recorded 17 tackles and half a sack in 10 games in 2021 before graduating in 2022, according to local21news.com. He was a three-sport athlete (football, wrestling and lacrosse) and was on the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Academic Honor Roll in 2021 and received the All-State Sportsmanship Award.
