MICHIGAN — A high school football player is recovering after a disturbing play on the football field last week in Michigan.
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A viral video shows a Kalamazoo Central High School player jumping on top of a Lakeshore player.
Courtney Mims shared the video on social media of her son, Colton, being injured during a JV game on Sept. 18.
“First, it was like, is that my son? And as soon as it clicked that it was, I couldn’t be stopped. I had to go down there,” she told CBS affiliate WSBT. “I’ve never felt anything like it. I’ve never been as upset or shaken up as I was over something for my son.”
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Medics took her son to the hospital, where they discovered that he had a broken spine in two places.
Colton was released from the hospital and is now recovering at home.
“He’s out at least for this season. We don’t know if he’s going to be able to play again. He should and will make a full recovery,” said Courtney Mims.
She now wants to raise awareness for potentially dangerous plays.
“Boys are high school boys. They’re 15 years old. The game means a lot to them. It’s their whole life right now,” Mims told WSBT. “They’re there from before I get up to go to work in the morning till after dinner, putting in the work, and for somebody to try to take that from somebody doing so much is awful for me to see.”
Kalamazoo Central High School wrote in a social media post that the incident does not represent their football program, coaching staff, or values of their school community.
“This was the action of an individual student who made a poor choice, acting on a social media video not connected to our team or coaches,” they added. “The behavior was addressed, and the student has received consequences consistent with the Kalamazoo Public Schools Student Code of Conduct and in compliance with MHSAA regulations.”
Lakeshore Schools district released a letter to the community, WWMT reported.
It said in part:
“The incident, which was captured on video and shared widely on social media and across media outlets, is totally unacceptable and has no place in student athletics. The superintendent of Kalamazoo Public Schools has apologized for the incident and applied serious disciplinary consequences to their student athlete consistent with its student policies and code of conduct.”
The punishment for the player who was seen jumping on top of Mims’ son was not released.
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