Football mishaps lead to serious injury

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Alliyah Trim, Co Editor-in-Chief

Football always seems so fun, especially if you’re in the student section cheering the team on or you’re sitting on the couch yelling at the TV. Although football is a very interesting sport to watch and play, it is also very dangerous.

Dylan Thomas, also known as “the heart and soul of the team’s defense,” passed away last month due to a head injury during a Friday night football game.

Thomas fell during the third quarter of the game when coaches from both teams ran out on the field when it seemed like something wasn’t right. He was a linebacker for the Georgia High School’s Pike County Pirates who were playing against Peach County High School that night (cnn.com).

He told the trainers that he suddenly lost all feeling in his left leg, but when questioned by the trainers, Thomas was alert and responded to many of them. “He seemed to be in great physical shape,” the athletic trainers said.

Coaches and examiners helped him off of the field, and he was examined by an orthopedic surgeon. As Thomas was being examined, his condition started to decrease rapidly, making him lose consciousness. He was quickly transferred to a nearby hospital.

After 40 hours of surgery, medical testing, and additional life-saving procedures, Thomas died. “It was the perfect amount of pressure and the perfect angle where he was hit in his head,” coroner Terrell Moody said (cbsnews.com).

Recently, Thomas’ doctors and parents have released more information about his death, stating that Thomas went into cardiac arrest after being hit in his head, which is what made him lose consciousness and feeling in his leg. “He was one of the finest young men I’ve ever had in my life… The sky was going to be the limit for him,” head coach Brad Webbers said (washingtonpost.com).

In the nation, many football athletes are becoming injured in games, which may result in them not being able to play for the rest of the season, or ever again. As a solution, maybe football itself should have more intense rules to keep the players from getting injured. They wear shoulder pads and helmets, but it is obvious that isn’t enough to keep them safe. Just wearing more gear isn’t enough; keeping themselves from harm should be a bigger priority than seeing how hard they can hit another player.

As the Friday night football games seem to be the highlight of the week for many high school students, athletes should always remember to take precautions and know that the game is not about how hard you can hit the players on the opposing team, but about the enjoyment of the sport itself.