Gerrard Kaonga
The school where a footballer ended up with a fractured spine after another player jumped on him has announced how they are dealing with the situation.
Footage from a high school JV football game in Michigan showed the shocking moment that one player jumped on another at the back end of a play.
The boy being jumped on ended up having his spine fractured and was identified as 15-year-old Colton from Lakeshore High School.
The video from a game last Thursday (September 18) showed the larger player initially tackling Colton to the floor and then proceeding to jump on him again while he lay on the ground.
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Colton’s mother spoke to the local media about the incident and recalled her horror at realizing the seriousness of her son’s injuries.
Speaking to WSBT, she said: “As soon as it clicked that it was [my son], I couldn’t be stopped.
“I had to go down there. I’ve never felt anything like it.
"I’ve never been as upset or shaken up as I was over something for my son.
“These boys are high school boys. They’re 15 years old. The game means a lot to them. It’s their whole life right now.
“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.”
The school of the player who jumped on Colton, Kalamazoo Central High School, has now said they are taking ‘strong and decisive action’ on the matter.
The Michigan High School Athletics Association (MHSAA) spoke to Fox News Digital and said: “Our staff has been speaking with both schools since Friday.
"Kalamazoo Central has taken this matter very seriously and they have taken strong and decisive action.
“Due to student privacy laws, we cannot disclose the specific accountability actions, but they have exceeded what MHSAA regulations would otherwise require in cases of dangerous and unsportsmanlike behavior.
“Our schools can provide additional details as they decide to do so, since they are handling things internally.”
While the school didn’t go into details of what exactly would be happening with the student, they did release a statement condemning his actions.
It read: “An incident that occurred during Kalamazoo Central High School’s Junior Varsity football game on Sept. 19 was the action of an individual student who displayed an egregious act against a player on the opposing team.
“This type of behavior is unacceptable and does not reflect the values of sportsmanship, respect, and integrity that Kalamazoo Public Schools expects from student-athletes, coaches and the entire school community.”