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High school football player suffers spinal fractures after senseless body slam

IMG_8358by: Andy Villamarzo09/22/25Andy_Villamarzo
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Kalamazoo Central JV player jumping on top of a Lakeshore JV player; Courtesy: Courtney Mims via WSBT

According to a WSBT 22 report, a Michigan junior varsity high school football player’s spine was fractured when a player twice his size jumped on him while he was lying on the ground.

In a video that has gone viral, a Kalamazoo Central (Mich.) JV player is shown flattening the Lakeshore (Mich.) player in a game last week.

The Lakeshore player’s mother, Courtney Mims, said at first she did not realize the athlete on the field laying on the ground was her son, according to a New York Post Sports report.

“As soon as it clicked that it was, I couldn’t be stopped. I had to go down there,” Mims said via the New York Post report. “I’ve never felt anything like it. I’ve never been as upset or shaken up as I was over something for my son.”

“These boys are high school boys. They’re 15 years old. The game means a lot to them. It’s their whole life right now. They’re there from before I get up to go to work in the morning till after dinner, putting in the work and for somebody to try to take that from somebody doing so much is awful for me to see.”

Mims said her son will be out the rest of the season and doctors are evaluating if he can ever play football again due to the multiple spine fractures because of the body slam by the opposing player.

“He’s out at least for this season. We don’t know if he’s going to be able to play again. He should and will make a full recovery,” Mims said.

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