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Sunday, May 06, 2018

Family blames youth football for tragic death of boy in California

A family is blaming youth football for the death of a 13-year-old boy who committed suicide a year after a particularly hard tackle.

In September 2015, James Ransom was playing offensive lineman for his middle school football team in Ladera Ranch, California, when his helmet collided with that of a boy from the opposing team.

It wasn't until after the game that his father, Greg, noticed dried blood around his son's ear. James didn't complain about the incident and moved on.

But his family said his personality changed following that hit.

James suffered from short-term memory loss, mood swings, and erratic obsessive behavior, Greg told the Orange County Register.

The younG boy attempted suicide three months after the hit and spent months in a mental institution. Then, in November 2016, he took his own life.

'People love football [but] football killed my son,' he told the newspaper. 'I'll say it again. Football killed my son.'

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21 comments:

Anonymous said...

It is an obvious case of head injury.
Need better helmets or change the culture so head contact is never encouraged

Anonymous said...

Accidents happen in every area of life directing it at football is the latest political boogieman.

Anonymous said...

Ban football from schools, make all schools a "Sports Free" zone to make school safer. It is for the children that this must be done. 1 death is too many, time for action now!

Anonymous said...

And people called me self-righteous when I said there are better sports options for your child than football. Well, if saving my child's life makes me self-righteous, then I guess I'm self-righteous!

Anonymous said...

4:58: I call B.S. No one, especially in this day and age would call you self righteous, let alone multiple people for not letting your child play football. That is utter nonsense! Stop making stuff up. I have never heard anyone call someone self righteous. Really, who even says that?! And who would say that to your face in a conversation about keeping your child safe. Come on! I think it is just your word of the day.

Anonymous said...

It wasn't to my face. It was on this blog.

Anonymous said...

4:34 - you can’t be serious! Get rid of football and all sports! That’s your answer? Competition and sports have been around for centuries and you want to ban that? That is one of the more idiotic things I’ve ever heard and I mean ever.

Anonymous said...

604
Wow
You pounded him/her

Why?

Anonymous said...

As a former coach, i have witnessed one too many times, other coaches and parents reliving their own failed sport careers via their kids.
In that, many contact-sport coaches want their players to hit harder, thinking that is what is most important. It's not.
i was at a national coaches clinic one year, and Lou Holtz was asked what HE looked for in a player
His response: " I look for players who can create space and those who can take it away... everything else i teach."
In other words, he was looking for speed. Not those that could hit the hardest.
Youth sports should be fun for the kids and be safe at the same time. Yes, sometimes they will get hurt but we need to take away the pain as primary goal.
Coaches should teach unselfish teamwork. that is what wins games.
And every year, i would tell the parents at the beginning of the season, your son will learn to win with humility and how to lose with dignity. It made all of my players better people.

Anonymous said...

All sports should be dropped from schools, it costs too much and it injures the children. Concentrate on teaching them instead of entertaining them. Maybe then we won't be in the bottom of the world in science and math.

Anonymous said...

And here's the link to comment. But i do stand corrected. It was righteous, not self righteous. My apologies.
http://sbynews.blogspot.com/2018/02/do-not-let-your-child-get-swept-up-by.html?m=1

Anonymous said...

Who let him play, knowing that there were risks?

Anonymous said...

And never drive a car with your child in it. It could hit a tree. Don't let your child ever fly in an airplane. It could crash! Time for action now!

Anonymous said...

4:58: It's like I said, made up B.S.! So now it has gone from multiple people that you know telling you and to your face, to an anonymous reply to your ignorant responce. That's weak sauce. But here it is, you are self righteous, because you are a liar. You distorted the the truth to fit your "truth." Text book definition of a narcasist.

Anonymous said...

8:32 - Obsess much?

Anonymous said...

We do have some of the dumbest kids in the world. Math, science, chemistry, engineering, medicine, all of the sciences and skills, we are in the bottom.
We need to concentrate on teaching and not playing. If kids want to play sports do it on weekends with a local team. Just think of the money that can be used on education instead of wasting it on sports.
Teachers could be paid better.

Anonymous said...

Never said it was to my face. Not quite sure why you're obsessing on that. But anyway, now multiple people have in writing called me righteous because I don't want my kid to die, so thanks for proving my point!

Anonymous said...

Sports teaches kids how to work together for a common goal which are excellent life skills . A lot of these kids wouldn’t be able to afford to continue their education after high school if not for sports scholarships so to say sports doesn’t help further education is plain wrong

Anonymous said...

You really implied it. Im calling you self righteous because you are a LIAR. Nothing to do with your kids. I did not prove any lame point you were trying to make. You likely lied about having kids, too. Keep trying to build yourself up little guy. If it takes lying about yourself in the comments section of a blog, you are truly pathetic! Again, this is about you being untruthful, not child safety, Putz. I knew you were full of it!

Anonymous said...

What was it I was being untruthful about again? I still can't quite figure it out. I provided the proof of my statement and it really seems to have affected you. Much anger you have. I hope it's not CTE. That tends to be problematic.

Anonymous said...

Most cases of CTE have been proven to be genetic not concussion related