Tyler Christman.Photo: Facebook
An upstate New York teen has died after sustaining a head injury during a high school football game.
On Saturday, Tyler Christman, a 14-year-old freshman at Carthage High School,collapsedon the sidelines during a junior varsity football game against West Genesee High School, Syracuse.com and NBC New Yorkreported. He was then rushed to the hospital where he underwent surgery, which revealed he suffered swelling and bleeding in his frontal cortex, according to Syracuse.com
Christman’s father, Jason, has since spoken out, writing on Facebook: “We all prayed for a miracle to happen for you to be saved. Sadly, the damage was just too much.”
“You will always be our hero and soon you will be a hero to the people that receive your life saving organ donations,” he continued, “and a hero to all the family members who have spent many sleepless nights praying for their miracle.”
Opening up about the fatal incident, West Genesee junior varsity coach Brian McAvan told Syracuse.com that “it was just a regular JV football game.”
McAvan added that and no single play or hit appeared to contribute to the athlete’s death, according to Syracuse.com.
During a Monday gathering of West Genesee junior varsity players, Faith Parks, Christman’s aunt, assured the athletes that her nephew’s injury was an accident and said that “nobody should feel at fault,” McAvan told the outlet.
“She said Tyler would have wanted you to play. It was more of an empathy message than anything else,” he added.
McAvan, varsity head coach Joe Corley and the community of West Genesee had raised $3,500 for the Christman family as of Monday, which Parks said they planned to put toward a scholarship in the late player’s name, Syracuse.com reported.
Premo added that counseling support and services are available to staff and students, and will continue to be offered in the coming weeks.
In a separate statement also shared with PEOPLE, Athletic Director Jason Brown and football coach Jason Coffman remembered Christman as “an amazing young athlete” who “participated on many of our athletic teams at Carthage Central.”
Christman’s death follows a string in high school football tragedies. Earlier this year, 18-year-oldEmmanuel “Manny” Antwicollapsed during a football game in Sacramento, whileMiguel Lugo, 17, died from a medical emergency during practice in New York andJoshua Ivory Jr., 15, died after collapsing at a football practice in Georgia.
source: people.com
