The Dark Side of Friday Night Lights

This past November, my family and I were enjoying a night of fun and excitement, cheering on my two grandsons as they played for the La Grange Leopards varsity football team in the first district playoff game of the 2018 season. With two minutes left to play in the game, my oldest grandson Mason, shown on the right in the above photo with his younger brother, was critically injured by a late hit to his abdomen [clip from the game film above shows the hit]. Later that night, he had to be air lifted to a trauma center in Austin for emergency surgery: his spleen was ruptured by the hit and he was bleeding internally, intense enough to require 7 units of red blood cells and 2 units of plasma to save his life. He will be at increased risk for infection for the rest of his life as a result of the removal of his spleen.

Seeing my grandson in shock trauma ICU and watching my daughter, terrified with fear that she might lose her son, continues to haunt me.  Adding to that fear is the fact that few in authority seem to be paying attention to the lack of protective equipment being provided to young athletes in public schools. Though my daughter contacted the Sweeney school whose player delivered the late hit and drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, to our knowledge the player at fault was not disciplined by Sweeney according to protocol.  And though she mailed, emailed and faxed a letter to the University Interscholastic League** (UIL) requesting they investigate the foul and penalty, she has yet to receive a response  from UIL to even acknowledge her request. Which begs the question: who is looking out for the safety of our children and grandchildren?

Young athletes like my grandsons that play at lower levels need the same protective equipment as college and NFL players; perhaps even more so. They have less control of their bodies because they are still developing and, because of that, are more likely to sustain unintended injury.  With the increased emphasis on avoiding hits to the head, a much-needed focus, it is only logical that more hits will occur in the abdominal area where vital organs such as the spleen and liver are located.

My daughter and I started this GoFundMe campaign to make a difference NOW by raising money to provide EvoShield shirts with abdominal and rib protectors for the La Grange Leopards freshmen, junior and senior varsity football teams, a total of 128 players. Our goal is to have the shirts in hand before the 2019 season begins. Your donation is sincerely appreciated and will go directly to help protect our young athletes, while bringing some comfort to their families and loved ones.

Thank you for caring and for sharing this page with others who may want to help.  You can also help by contacting the UIL and public schools / athletic departments in your area and urging them to take action.  

Sincerely,
Sandra Porter and Shannon Juno

**University Interscholastic League (UIL) is an organization that creates rules for and administers almost all athletic, musical, and academic contests for public primary and secondary schools in Texas. From their website: "The purpose of the UIL is to organize and properly supervise contests that assist in preparing students for citizenship.  It aims to provide healthy, character building, educational activities carried out under rules providing for good sportsmanship and fair play for all participants."