A “horrible decision” by a high school football player has left an opponent with spinal fractures and put his school and coaches on the receiving end of several racially charged threats.
Rhys Biske, a teammate of the Kalamazoo Central High School football player who flattened his Lakeshore opponent away from a play during game earlier this month, said he could not defend his teammate’s “illegal move.”
“The decision my teammate made and what he did to the Lakeshore player was not alright,” Biske said in a video posted on TikTok via his mother’s account. “It was an illegal move and had no place. I’m not going to try to defend that. It was a horrible decision.”
The teen claimed the “move was intentional,” but also said his teammate had no malicious intent to injure the fallen rival, calling it a “celebration and to be funny.”
“After the play, he came to me on the sideline, he said he wanted to apologize, he felt bad for the kid, but the Lakeshore student had already been carted off the field,” Biske said.
The viral incident occurred during a game on Sept. 19 when a Lakeshore player named Colton was knocked to the ground by a hit from a Kalamazoo Central opponent wearing No. 73.
Then, with the ball 10 yards away and Colton lying on the ground, the much-larger Kalamazoo Central player jumped up and landed with his full body weight on him.
After absorbing the massive blow, Colton was carted off the field and taken to a hospital.
Courtney Mims, Colton’s mother, revealed to local CBS affiliate WSBT that the 15-year-old suffered two fractures in his spine and was given muscle relaxers once he was released.
“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.”
Mims said her son should make a full recovery, but will not play again this season.
Biske, 15, said that the players, coaches, referees and most fans didn’t see the incident occur, as it happened in the back field during a scoring play.
According to Fox News, an official with the state’s high school athletics association said the school has taken “strong and decisive action” against the offending Kalamazoo Central player.
“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,” the Michigan High School Athletics Association (MHSAA) told the outlet.
“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 behaviour.
“Our schools can provide additional details as they decide to do so, since they are handling things internally.”
Riske also claims some of his coaches and some school staffers are receiving racial threats online and through phone calls.
“They’re getting a lot of threats and comments on videos or saying a lot of things about jail time for my teammate and firing the coaches,” he said.
According to reports, the Kalamazoo Township police are investigating the threats.