A Michigan high school football player has publicly condemned his teammate’s “horrible decision” to slam their opponent in an “illegal move” that broke his spine.
The incident occurred last week when a Kalamazoo Central High School player bellyflopped onto a Lakeshore High School player, who was already lying on the ground. The move left the teen with a broken vertebrae in his lower spine, his family said. The two players involved in the incident, both teens, have not been publicly identified.
Rhys Biske, the Kalamazoo Central player’s teammate, spoke out, saying he can’t defend his teammate’s actions.
“The decision my teammate made and what he did to the Lakeshore player was not alright,” the 15-year-old said in a video posted on his mother’s TikTok Thursday. “It was an illegal move and had no place. I’m not going to try to defend that. It was a horrible decision.”
The move was “intentional,” but the injury that resulted from the leap was not, the sophomore said. “He had no malicious intent. He was doing it as a celebration or to be funny.”
After the incident, the Kalamazoo Central player told Biske that he wanted to apologize to the Lakeshore player that he had just jumped on but at that point, the teen had already been wheeled off the field, Biske said.
Footage of the incident has gone viral, capturing the Kalamazoo Central player tackling his smaller opponent only to then get back on his feet, and jump back on the teen as he’s still down, curled up, on the ground.
Courtney Mims, the injured player’s mother, initially thought her son may never walk again after seeing the footage.
“And I at first 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 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.”
Mims said her son won’t be able to play for the rest of the season and is currently recovering at home. “We don’t know if he’s going to be able to play again. He should and will make a full recovery,” she said.
In his TikTok video, Biske also mentioned that his team and coaches have been receiving death threats and racist comments — online and through phone calls to the school — in the wake of the incident.
Some social media users and callers are insisting that the Kalamazoo Central coaches be fired, he claimed.
Biske denied the suggestions that his coaches taught the team to bellyflop on opponents. “My teammate made this decision by himself. We have never been taught to jump on other people.”
He praised the positive impact that the coaches have had on the team. “They do not deserve for their lives or their family’s lives to be threatened because of one player’s decision.”
The Kalamazoo Township Police Department are investigating the threats, the New York Post reported.
The Independent has contacted the police department for more information.
The Kalamazoo Central player has also been subjected to racist threats, his father told the school board this week.
The father pleaded with the board to not take his son’s education away. “I accept the punishment. My son is wrong. We sent out letters and everything,” the father said. “But, please, don’t take my son’s education.”
Greg Eding, superintendent of Lakeshore Public Schools, said such conduct has “no place in student athletics.”
“This incident was an intentional, unprovoked, and flagrant violation of the rules and appropriate sports conduct and resulted in an injury to one of our Lakeshore student athletes,” he wrote in a letter to the community, noting the Kalamazoo superintendent has applied “serious disciplinary consequences” to the athlete.
Following the incident, a spokesperson for Kalamazoo Public Schools said that the incident does not represent their values.
“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,” the district said in a statement.
