Freshman football player paralyzed after making tackle in first high school game
A freshman high school football player described as a “fighter” was paralyzed from the shoulders down after making a routine tackle during his first game of the season, according to his Minnesota family.
Ethan Glynn, a 15-year-old on the Bloomington Jefferson High School freshman football team, underwent a surgery of more than seven hours on Friday, Sept. 2, to repair the “severe neck and spinal cord injury,” his parents said in a CaringBridge.org post.
The injury came during a “normal play,” when Ethan was playing as a defensive back against Chaska, according to the Star Tribune.
“He got low, and the other guy got low,” family friend John Frein told the publication. “It was just a weird angle. It looked harmless. … The stars aligned just right for that to happen.”
He was conscious as paramedics began tending to him on the field, Bloomington Jefferson head football coach Tim Carlson told KMSP. Chad Nyberg, the school’s activities director, described the injury as “freak accident stuff,” WCCO reported.
Ethan, known as “E” by his teammates, needed a second surgery to stabilize his spine, his parents said.
“He has a long road ahead of him but he is a fighter and we have no doubt that he (will) give it his all,” said Cassidy Durkin and Corey Glynn.
Carlson is confident that Ethan, who also plays hockey and baseball, can recover from the injury.
“There’s no playbook for this,” Carlson told KMSP. “If there’s one kid who can do it, it’s going to be Ethan. He’s strong-willed. He’s determined.”
Ethan remained hospitalized as of Thursday, Sept. 8. He has spent time on a ventilator, but his parents said he is using a board to communicate how he is feeling.
The 15-year-old is known as “a good, well-rounded kid,” Frein told KARE.
“Everyone loves the kid. He’s happy, laughs a lot, tells jokes, hangs out with friends,” the family friend said.
This story was originally published September 8, 2022 at 11:18 AM with the headline "Freshman football player paralyzed after making tackle in first high school game."