Funeral Held for MU Football Player

Family and friends have gathered to pay their final respects to University of Missouri football player Aaron O’Neal during his funeral at West Side Missionary Baptist Church. O’Neal collapsed last week during a voluntary workout with teammates in Columbia. A trainer and a teammate helped O’Neal walk off the field. He was taken by ambulance to University Hospital. O’Neal was 19. The cause of death has yet to be determined. A medical examiner has ruled out infection, trauma and foul play. No football coaches were at the workout, because NCAA rules prohibit them from attending such preseason workouts. O’Neal was a redshirt freshman who grew up in Creve Coeur, a St. Louis suburb. He was a graduate of Parkway North High School.