Vigil held for former Rufus King football player who died last week

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A vigil was held at Rufus King High School Wednesday, July 2, for Nate White, who died last week. 

White graduated from Rufus King High School in 2023 after being a standout on the football field. 

“He loved football, he wanted to play at the highest level,” Nate’s mother, Chrystal White, said. 

Nate went on to become a member of the Wisconsin Badgers football team, where he spent two years before transferring to South Dakota State this year. 

“I keep remembering how happy he was, and it was just a different feel,” White said. 

Last Wednesday, Chrystal got a call that her son was unresponsive and that emergency crews couldn’t save him. 

“We were looking forward to the first game,” Nate’s father, Les White, said. “They had seen him practice, they had seen him scrimmage, it’s just a different level when he’s actually in the game.”

Les and Chrystal got to visit South Dakota State to see Nate play in practice and remember the impact he had on his teammates in just a short six months. 

“He was happy there and we know that he was loved there,” Les White said. “They appreciated him to the point where the school and the players, only being there six months, said a lot to how much he helped them.”

Chrystal White says her son was a child of God, and that the South Dakota State alumni group raised thousands of dollars for the family. 

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