It’s so obvious it hardly needs said. A blow to the head can kill. SO WHAT’S the right reaction to an out-of-control teenager who delivers a fatal punch to a referee? Was that the intent? Surely not. MOTHERS AND fathers, teach your children anger management. Show them how to let off steam in a healthy way. And if they don’t have the proper temperament for team sports, don’t let them participate. A BEAUTIFUL afternoon on the soccer field was turned into a field of horrors — all so easily avoided.
Boxers know it. Those who study the martial arts learn never to deliver blows to the head. Contact sports as a whole are getting serious review as to how to make them more safe because of a growing awareness of brain injuries — some immediate, others long delayed.
The 17-year-old goalie went ballistic when the referee gave him a warning for pushing an opponent who was trying to score a point in a soccer game.
Accounts from the police report say the teen got into the ref’s face and began yelling at him and then punched him in the face.
Initially, the referee said he felt fine, but then experienced dizziness. He sat down and began to vomit blood.
At the hospital, he slipped into a coma with swelling in his brain. A week later, he died.
The teen now faces charges for murder.
Two lives lost to senseless violence.
“Time out” isn’t just for naughty toddlers. Teach your children to take a few moments before they react to an unpleasant situation. Breathe deeply, count to 10. Walk away.
A simple lesson on the fragility of the brain may also help give reason to pause. The blow to the referee’s head was severe enough to cause internal bleeding around the brain, disrupting the critical supply of oxygen, which led to his death.
Complications can include slipping into a coma, going into a vegetative state, seizures, infections, nerve damage which could result in paralysis, double vision, blindness, or a whole host of cognitive and behavioral problems including memory, reasoning, learning, depression, or degenerative brain diseases including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
In other words, the brain is very sensitive to any kind of trauma, and could, as in the case of the referee, fail completely and cause death.
— Susan Lynn
