Athlete who was hit by opponent with baton speaks out after being treated for 'skull fracture'
A high school track and field athlete's attempt to win a relay race was disrupted after an opponent appeared to hit her with a baton.
Kaelen Tucker is a junior at Brookville High School in Virginia, USA, and has claimed that she is still waiting for an apology from her opponent, who attends I.C. Norcom High School.
She had just set a Virginia High School League (VHSL) Class 3 State Indoor Championships record in the 55-metre race on 3 March, and aimed to emerge victorious in the 4x200 metre relay final the following day.
However, footage from the race shows an opponent, Alaila Everett, apparently hitting Tucker over the head with her baton, causing concussion symptoms and a possible skull fracture.
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Here's what Tucker recalled of the incident:
Tucker ran off the track, holding her head, and eventually falling down as a result.
Everett has since claimed that she 'would never hit somebody on purpose', and blamed the angle of the footage, which has gone viral.
But in an interview with WSET ABC 13 posted on Friday (7 March), Tucker shared her side of events.
"So, on the back curve, I kind of got cut off, and I tried to pass her the first time, so I let her go ahead," she explained.
"I knew when I got fully on the curve that I was just going to have to push through past her. So, as we were coming up in the middle of the curve, we were bumping arms a lot. So, I got a little more on the outside of the curve to go around her.
"When I finally pushed through to get in front of her, that’s when she hit me in the head with the baton."
Tucker's mother, Tamarro, also commented on the situation, claiming that her section 'gasped' when it happened.
"When I saw her go down, all I could do is run out of the bleachers. I just knew I had to get to her," the mum said.
"She was kind of hysterical because she just couldn’t believe that’s what had happened."
According to the news publication, judges disqualified the Norcom team for 'contact interference', as Tamarro said that a medic attended to her daughter's injuries when she went off the track.
The mother added that at the time of the interview, they had not heard from the runner or the school's coaches.
After Tucker's family reached out to the VHSL, they were told that they got a call-back explaining that they were undertaking an investigation, with no disciplinary action announced yet.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, the VHSL said: "The VHSL does not comment on individuals or disciplinary actions due to FERPA.
"The actions taken by the meet director to disqualify the runner were appropriate and correct. We thoroughly review every instance like this that involves player safety with the participating schools. The VHSL membership has always made it a priority to provide student-athletes with a safe environment for competition."
Everett has already spoken out on the incident, in a tearful interview with WAVYTV10, claiming: "After a couple times of hitting her with my baton, I got stuck behind her back and [the baton] rolled up her back."
"I lost my balance, and when I pumped my arms again, she got hit. I know my intentions and I would never hit somebody on purpose," she insisted.
Her parents also added that they '100 percent' knew that their daughter didn't hit Tucker deliberately, causing further injuries.
Everett has since been hit with criticism on social media and within the sporting community.
She claimed: "Everybody has feelings, so you're physically hurt but you are not thinking about my mental, right? They are going off of one angle.
"They're assaulting my character, calling me ghetto, racist slurs, death threats, all of this, just because of a nine second video."
Everett insisted she does want to apologise to her opponent, but claimed that Tucker has not been 'receptive' and has blocked her online.
LADbible has contacted VHSL for further comment.
Topics: Health, Social Media, Sport, US News
Joshua Nair