Thomas OK after blacking out

The Emergency Medical Service transported Johnny Thomas, head coach of the men’s and women’s track teams, to the Baton Rouge General located on Bluebonnet yesterday around noon.
According to Tinnequo Lightfoot-Ross, assistant coach for the men’s and women’s track teams, Thomas was sitting at his desk on the phone while she was doing paperwork when she noticed that he looked strange.
Ross said she proceeded to call his name but he was non responsive. She then went over to him and touched him, yet he remained unresponsive and dazed until she attempted to remove the phone from his hand. At that moment, he asked, “What happened?”
Greg LaFleur, the athletic director, said that Thomas has had health concerns for the last year and a half and is preparing to retire but a specific date has not been decided.
Lafleur said that Thomas is outstanding and has been the best in the country for approximately the last 24 years and has done so with limited resources, which is a true testament of his dedication and ability to get students to reach full potential.
According to the official athletic website of Southern, Thomas was inducted into the Southwestern Athletic Conference Sports Hall of Fame in December 2007. It also stated that Thomas has amassed over 45 SWAC titles in track and field and cross-country in his Southern coaching career.
When Leon Citizen, a junior business management major from Cankton heard about what happened to Thomas, he said he was with Thomas just over an hour ago. Citizen, the 400-meter sprinter, said he felt bad because yesterday was Thomas’ first day back at work after being out a week with pneumonia.
Jamarcus Bailey, a sophomore criminal justice major from Houston, said that he was in the office when Thomas blacked out. Bailey, who is also a sprinter for the men’s track team, said that his first thought was to call 911.
When Thomas was carried out on the stretcher, Thomas was smiling, saying he’ll be fine. Although he was cognizant, medical officials recommended that he go to the hospital for further evaluation and for medical precautions.
According to the website, the Baton Rouge native was born in 1940 and graduated from McKinley Sr. High School in 1959. Thomas, a Southern alum, received his bachelor’s in 1963 and received his master’s in 1973. In 1987, Thomas was named the head track & field coach at Southern.