By Hank Russell
Local elected officials urged Massapequa residents to support a “simple” bill that they said will save the lives of young student-athletes.
State Assemblyman Michael Durso (R-Massapequa Park) and state Senator Alexis Weik (R-Sayville) announced at the “Save The Chiefs” Festival Fundraiser on June 7 that they will introduce “Connor’s Law” to the state Legislature. The bill is named after Connor Kasin, a Massapequa High School student who died late last year from a medical event while playing in a charity hockey game.
As previously reported in Long Island Life & Politics, Connor’s Law would require yearly cardiac fitness certificates, including an electrocardiogram or an echocardiogram as part of the mandatory sports physical for interscholastic athletes in public schools.
“Screenings for undetected heart conditions are a preventative measure and ensure that student-athletes will participate in sports safely,” Durso said. “After Connor’s passing, I came up with the idea for this bill to prevent any unnecessary tragedies and to ensure that student-athletes and parents can have peace of mind knowing there are no underlying health issues or potential risk factors.”
Durso urged those in attendance to support the bill and contact their local lawmakers to back the legislation as well. “This is a good bill that will save lives.”
“Connor’s Law won’t go anywhere without the community expressing their support for the bill,” Weik added. “This is a simple bill. It saves many, many lives. When we lose one student, we lose too many.”
Oyster Bay Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino praised the Kasin family for “[taking] a tragedy and turned it into something wonderful [by] giving back [to the community]. They’re a great family and they epitomize what it means to be a part of the Chiefs family.”
Craig Kasin, Connor’s father, spoke about the feeling of losing a child. “Imagine you are there with your child one day and then, all of a sudden, he is no longer there,” he said. “That’s what happened to us.”
He said Connor’s Law “could have made a difference,” had the bill been made into law while Connor was alive. “This bill is simple. It’s a no-brainer.” He also urged everyone to get an echocardiogram. “It’s a simple procedure.”
Bobby Foran, who was friends with Connor, described his friend as “the biggest chief I knew. He repped the blue and gold every day. His whole wardrobe was blue and gold.”
LILP spoke with Connor’s father after the rally. He shared what it was like to have Connor as a son.
“He really could do no wrong,” he said of Connor. “Even when he did wrong, he could do no wrong. … You would try to ground him, then he’d reverse it on you. I couldn’t stay mad at him.”
Connor started playing baseball at a young age; he won the World Series while playing with the Massapequa Coast League. When he was older, he started to play hockey and lift weights. (The Bethpage Ice Rink has Connor’s number — 37 — hung in the rafters.”)
“He was a dedicated athlete,” he said. “After going to [play in] a hockey game, he would go to the gym. … He was superhuman; he used to call himself ‘Batman.’”
He also described his son as being “a motivator and a friend. He motivated me to go to the gym.”
In addition to being a standout athlete, Connor was also friendly and charismatic. “He had more friends than I can count,” Craig Kasin said. “He had all these groups of friends; he was the common element. … There were no cliques with him. He was the clique.”
He was also close to his father, as they went to sporting events together and watched TV together. Connor was a Yankees and Islanders fan and recently got into Indy 500 racing, with his favorite team being McLaren.
“If I had tickets to the Islander game, he’d say, ‘Yeah, I’ll go,’” Craig Kasin said. “He never said no.” Connor would also “watch the same junk as me” on TV.
Describing his bond with his son, Craig Kasin said, “We were tight, never tighter. We would joke around like we were buddies.”
“He was just a superhuman being,” he continued. “I realize that even more after his passing.”