Teammate of high school American football player who broke opposition’s spine slams ‘horrible decision’

A teammate has slammed the actions of another player as a 'horrible decision' after a student's spine was fractured during a high school football game.

In horrifying scenes which have gone viral around the world, Kalamazoo Central High School were playing against Lakeshore last week (19 September) when a player bellyflopped onto rival player during a tackle.

According to family, the move resulted in a broken vertebrae in the lower spine, with footage of the incident having since gone viral on social media.

Fellow teammate Rhys Biske has since spoken out and said he could not defend the 'illegal move' and the resulting terrifying injuries.

Rhys said on TikTok: “The decision my teammate made and what he did to the Lakeshore player was not alright."

Posting on his mother's account, he continued: “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.

Rhys said the 'move was intentional,' but insists it wasn't a deliberate attempt to injure.

Instead, he says the player was doing it as a 'celebration and to be funny.'

Following the incident, the offending boy reportedly wanted to apologise, but the injured Lakeshore player had already been taken away.

Courtney Mims is the mother of the injured player, and she told local news outlet WSBT that her son will be out for the rest of the season, and doctors are deciding whether he could play again.

She was watching the game when it happened and said as soon as she realised it was her son who had been injured, she could not be held back and ran to see if he was okay.

She added: "They're high school boys, they're 15 years old and 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 until 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."

🏈A junior varsity football game sent a player to the hospital with two spine fractures in Michigan after one player jumped on another player from the opposite team. #HighSchoolFootball #Injury https://t.co/S0gClD4hdY pic.twitter.com/phwRjSxeGW

— KFOX14 News (@KFOX14) September 23, 2025

The boy has since been released from hospital and is recovering at home.

The teammate confirmed that most people didn't see the moment it happened, as it took place behind them while someone else had gone on to score.

He said that racial threats have been issued online and by phone to the player and the coaches after the incident went viral online.

“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,” he said.

The Kalamazoo Township Police Department said they are investigating the threats being made.

Meanwhile, the school said it had taken 'strong and decisive action' against the player in question, but 'due to student privacy laws, we cannot disclose the specific accountability actions.'

The Kalamazoo School also released a statement, which reads: “An incident that occurred during Kalamazoo Central High School’s Junior Varsity football game on Sept. 19 was the action of an individual student who displayed an egregious act against a player on the opposing team.

“This type of behaviour is 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.”