An incident has gone viral and sparked outrage online after a large football player was caught on video bellyflopping onto another player during a game between Kalamazoo Public Schools and Lakeshore High School.
Newsweek has reached out to the Michigan High School Athletics Association, Kalamazoo Public Schools, and Lakeshore Public Schools outside of regular working hours via email for comment.
Why It Matters
The youth sports industry generates around $40 billion in revenue each year, as per the Aspen Institute. A recent New York Times report found that around 60 million children are playing sports, and the average U.S. sports family is spending over $1,000 on their child’s primary sport.
High school sports is something that is of significant interest to people, so sports-related incidents regularly generate attention online.
What To Know
A video, which has received millions of views online, shows a large football player, from Kalamazoo Central High School, jumping up into the air and then bellyflopping onto his opponent, from Lakeshore High School.
The Lakeshore High School Player was much smaller than the Kalamazoo Central High School Player. The former was 15 years old, and his mother told a local Michigan TV station after the incident that her son had suffered two spinal fractures.
One version of the video, shared by the account @Breaking911 on X, has been viewed more than 5 million times on X.
The incident has sparked a strong reaction online, as people have responded with shock and outrage to the video.
The video has also prompted responses from both schools and the Michigan High School Athletic Association, which has confirmed that “strong and decisive” action is being taken.
The superintendent of Lakeshore Public Schools sent out a letter about the incident. It read 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 letter detailed that after the incident, the teams came together to say a prayer for the injured student.
What People Are Saying
The Michigan High School Athletics Association (MHSAA) told Fox News: “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.”
Kalamazoo Public Schools, in a statement given to Fox News: “An incident that occurred during Kalamazoo Central High School’s Junior Varsity football game on September 19 was the action of an individual student who displayed an egregious act against a player on the opposing team.”
@Breaking911 in a post on X viewed over 5 million times: “AWFUL: HS football player in Michigan hospitalized after larger player belly flops on him 15-year-old Colton Mims suffered two broken vertebrae.”
@NFL_DovKleiman, in a post on X viewed over 400,000 times: “Heartbreaking: A high school football player in Michigan was hospitalized after a HUGE 350-pound player belly flopped on him. 15-year-old Colton Mims suffered two broken vertebrae. Prayers to Mims and his family.”
What’s Next
The mother of the injured student told local news that her son was expected to make a full recovery.