A high school football player from New York died after suffering a head injury during a football game. Tyler Christman, 14, collapsed on the sidelines during a junior varsity football game, according to NBC New York. He was rushed to the hospital where he underwent surgery. It was discovered that Christman, who attended Carthage High Shcool, suffered swelling and bleeding in his frontal cortex, as mentioned by PEOPLE. He was placed on life support following the surgery and died on Tuesday.
Christman’s father Jason wrote an emotional message to his son on Facebook. “We all prayed for a miracle to happen for you to be saved. Sadly, the damage was just too much,” Jason wrote. “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.”
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Carthage was playing against West Genesee, who received a visit from Christman’s aunt, Faith Parks, on Monday. “She said this was an accident. Nobody should feel at fault,” said West Genesee junior varsity coach Brian McAvan, per Syracuse.com. “She said Tyler would have wanted you to play. It was more of an empathy message than anything else.” McAvan, West Genesee varsity head coach Joe Corley and the West Genesee community raised $3,500 as of Monday. Parks said the money will be used toward a scholarship in Christman’s name.
“The Carthage Central School District is deeply saddened by the sudden and tragic loss of freshman student-athlete Tyler Christman,” Carthage Central School District Superintendent Jennifer Premo said in a statement to PEOPLE. “Tyler was an outstanding student who was highly involved in the school community. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.”
“His ability to be an outstanding teammate and infectious personality will be greatly missed by all that knew him. Words cannot describe how heartbroken we all are for the entire Christman family,” Athletic Director Jason Brown and football coach Jason Coffman said in a statement. “Tyler, and all of the Christman’s have been a very big part of the Carthage Football family for years. Our sincerest condolences go out to their entire family.”
