A Michigan high school football player is publicly denouncing his teammate’s ‘horrible decision’ to jump on top of an opponent – while also revealing that his school has received terrible racially-charged threats.
Last week, a Kalamazoo Central junior varsity football player’s heinous act of jumping onto his Lakeshore opponent went viral.
It was later revealed that the injured, defenseless player had fractured his spine twice – ending his season early and possibly ending his playing career.
While the injured teen was revealed to be 15-year-old Colton Mims, the player who jumped on his opponent hasn’t been identified. But one of his teammates, Rhys Biske, posted a video on his mother’s TikTok account to say he wouldn’t defend his teammate.
‘The decision my teammate made and what he did to the Lakeshore player was not alright,’ the 15-year-old said in the video. ‘It was an illegal move and had no place. I’m not going to try to defend that. It was a horrible decision.’
He added that the move ‘was intentional’, but said there wasn’t any malicious intent behind his actions – doing the stunt as a ‘celebration and to be funny’.
Kalamazoo Central High School has taken ‘strong and decisive action’ against one of their own junior varsity football players after he was seen jumping on top of a defenseless opponent
A teammate of that Kalamazoo player, Rhys Biske, has denounced his fellow player’s actions
‘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 kid also added that Kalamazoo Central coaches and school staff members have been receiving racial threats online and over the phone after the incident.
‘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,’ Biske said.
Biske’s mother, Sandra, told local station WWMT that during a parent meeting at the school on Wednesday, administrators told them about ‘horrible racial slurs’ being called into the school.
Kalamazoo police are investigating the threats being made against the school and those involved.
After the incident attracted national headlines, Kalamazoo Central released a statement saying they took ‘strong and decisive action’ against their own player – who has not been identified.
‘Due to student privacy laws, we cannot disclose the specific accountability actions, but they have exceeded what (Michigan High School Athletics Association) regulations would otherwise require in cases of dangerous and unsportsmanlike behavior,’ the school told Fox News.
A statement from the Kalamazoo school district as a whole said the player’s behavior was ‘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 injured player is out for the season and it is unknown if he will be able to play football again
The injured player, identified as Colton Mims, has two spinal fractures he is healing from
The school system added that the student ‘received consequences consistent with the Kalamazoo Public Schools Student Code of Conduct and in compliance with Michigan High School Athletic Association regulations.’
The superintendent for Lakeshore Public Schools sent a letter to students, staff, and families regarding the incident, calling it ‘an intentional, unprovoked and flagrant violation of the rules and appropriate sports conduct.’
This letter also said the school has been in ‘regular communication with his family regarding this matter. We have also put in place supportive measures to ensure our student athlete can continue his education while he recovers.’
