CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The 2-year-old grandson of Milwaukee Bucks coach Adrian Griffin died at an Illinois hospital on Saturday, authorities said.
According to the Champaign County coroner, Jayce D. Griffin, of Urbana, was pronounced dead on Saturday at Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana, WICS-TV reported.
An autopsy revealed no signs of foul play, according to WISN-TV. The coroner said the boy’s death appears to be from natural causes pending additional testing and final autopsy results, the television station reported.
“My grandson Jayce was very special to me and my family and his passing is an agonizing tragedy that will be felt forever,” Adrian Griffin said in a statement. “I appreciate your respecting our family’s grief and privacy at this time.”
The boy’s mother, Jasmine Riggs, told WISN that she had left Jayce with the Griffin family for the weekend. The boy’s father was Alan Griffin, who Riggs said she met when he played basketball at the University of Illinois.
Riggs said that her son had what appeared to be a routine respiratory infection last week but there were no serious concerns after a visit to a doctor, WDJT-TV reported.
Riggs added that Alan Griffin, the boy’s father and son of Adrian Griffin, was watching the boy on Friday in Champaign, according to the television station. She added that Alan Griffin found the boy unresponsive in the basement of the family home on Saturday morning.
Riggs said that Adrian Griffin called her to let her know that Jayce had stopped breathing and had been hospitalized, WDJT reported.
“When the paramedics got there, it was already too late. I got to the hospital -- Jayce was at the hospital -- I got to the hospital and my baby was already gone,” Riggs told the television station.
Jayce was pronounced dead at 10:40 a.m. CDT, WICS reported.
The death remains under investigation by the Champaign Police Department.
Adrian Griffin, 49, was hired as the Bucks coach on June 5. He spent the previous 15 seasons as an assistant with Milwaukee, the Chicago Bulls, Orlando Magic, Oklahoma City Thunder and Toronto Raptors.