
Lakeshore Public Schools says it’s working with leaders at Kalamazoo Public Schools after an incident during the JV football game between Lakeshore and Kalamazoo Central on Thursday that left a Lakeshore player injured.
Video has been passed around on social media showing a Kalamazoo Central player jumping on to the Lakeshore player lying on the ground following a play. Lakeshore Schools tells us it can’t comment on the health of any student, but we’ve been told by other sources the Lakeshore player did have to seek medical treatment.
Al Pscholka, who has called Lakeshore Football for WSJM for decades, tells us he wasn’t at the JV game, but he finds the incident highly disturbing.
“I’ve been broadcasting high school and college games since 1984, and frankly, I’ve never seen anything like that,” Pscholka said. “But I have noticed over the last two or three years, an increase in flagrant fouls and students losing control, arguing with coaches and each other. And there’s something going on with our young people that they’ve lost that personal connection.”
Pscholka says the Kalamazoo Central player should be suspended for the rest of the season and receive mandatory counselling to control his emotions.
“It really was disgusting. It was blatant. It was after the play, a player was prone down on the field and another player jumped in the air and body slammed him. There’s just no place for that in high school football at all.”
Lakeshore Football Coach Danny Thompson tells us he also cannot comment on health or disciplinary issues involving any student, either at his school or in Kalamazoo, but he says all of the proper procedures are being followed to respond to the incident.
Pscholka says everyone needs to reach out to young people and connect with them as human beings so they learn to respect others.