(9-23-25) An incident in a Michigan High School JV football game went viral after the video of a Kalamazoo Central player doing a body slam on top of a Lakeshore player who he had already blocked and was already down.

The Lakeshore player was taken to a local hospital and was diagnosed with some serious spinal injuries.

The Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) issued a statement last weekend shortly after the incident on disciplinary action that might be taken against the Kalamazoo Central student –

“We are aware of the situation you’re describing … We’ve talked to both schools, and they are resolving this issue internally.”

Below is the response sent to us today about the initial response above.

GEOFF KIMMERLY, Director of Communications, Michigan High School Athletic Association

The MHSAA staff has spoken with both schools, and began that dialogue Friday. Kalamazoo Central has taken this matter very seriously and with specific accountability actions that have exceeded what MHSAA regulations would otherwise require in cases of dangerous and unsportsmanlike behavior.

This incident put a spotlight on a very serious situation that should have been handled by the state association, not putting the schools on the spot. This was not a minor incident, it needed to be addressed so coaches and players in the future need to know there will be consequences for their actions. This was a serious case..a young man suffered an injury that will most likely be something he will deal with for a long time.

In email replies to SSN about the incident both school systems replied to what is taking place —

From Kalamazoo Public Schools—

From Lakeshore Public Schools—