KALAMAZOO, MI –– A teammate of the Michigan high school football player that fractured an opposing player’s spine during a junior varsity football game last week is sharing his perspective on the incident, citing that it’s led to hostility against his school and coaches.
Rhys Biske, 15, took to social media to share his perspective involving the incident, which occurred on Sept. 19 during the third quarter of a game between Kalamazoo Central and Stevensville Lakeshore.
“The decision my teammate made and what he did to the Lakeshore player was not all right,” Biske said via a six-minute TikTok video. “It was an illegal move and it had no place. I’m not going to try to defend that. It was a horrible decision.”
MORE: ‘Horrifying’ incident leaves Michigan high school football player with spine fractures
MORE: ‘We’re devastated’: Michigan prep football player disciplined after causing spine fractures
MORE: 5 key takeaways on incident that left Michigan prep football player with severe injuries
MORE: Michigan prep football player’s father pleads for son’s future after spine injury incident
The move, which you can see in the video below, saw a K-Central player (wearing No. 73) tackling 15-year-old Colton Comer and bringing him to the ground before climbing off of him and launching his body weight back onto him –– which sent Comer to the hospital.
Biske noted that his teammates move was intentional but had “no malicious intent” to break Comer’s spine in two places –– saying that the stunt was done as a “celebration and to be funny.”
He also stated that his teammate felt remorse on the sidelines following the play, saying that he “felt bad for the kid but the Lakeshore student had already been carted off the field.”
The backlash Biske, his teammates and his K-Central coaches have received since the incident have included racial threats online and through phone calls to his school.
“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 coaches,” he said.
Biske did mention that his coaches “did not deserve to be fired and they did not teach this” and that they have a “huge impact on the culture of this team.”
The incident, which was captured on video by Colton’s mother, Courtney Mims, has since stirred plenty of controversy worldwide –– with millions of views reported across the country.
Kalamazoo Central High School has placed disciplinary action on the K-Central player, stating that the act was “egregious” in a statement released earlier in the week and noting that the behavior of the student is “unacceptable and does not reflect the values of sportsmanship, respect and integrity that KPS expects from student-athletes, coaches and the entire school community.”
During a school board meeting on Thursday, the K-Central player’s father spoke and
The K-Central player’s father, Melrose Hensley, spoke during Kalamazoo Public Schools’ school board meeting on Thursday, pleading for understanding and begging the district to “not take my son’s education.”
According to a story done by News Channel 3, Kalamazoo Central Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Darrin Slade said that the student’s punishment is in line with the district’s discipline policies, noting that the policies are some of the strongest in the state.
Due to student privacy laws, the specific disciplinary action has not been released by Kalamazoo Central.
The Michigan High School Athletic Association released a statement earlier this week stating that Kalamazoo Central took this matter “very seriously” with action that far exceeded what the MHSAA would otherwise require in unsportsmanlike and dangerous behaviors.
Lakeshore Superintendent Greg Eding released a letter to MLive this week as well, which stated that the incident was “totally unacceptable and has no place in student athletics.”
Biske concluded the video saying that he doesn’t defend what his teammate did, but that his team and school are not “violent people.”
“I still will always defend him because he’s a good kid and he’s human,” Biske said. “He made a mistake and is deserving of love and not to be hated on. He does not deserve prison time and the rest of the team and coaches will stand by him and support him because he’s a human being.”
Comer was released from the hospital following the incident and is recovering at home.