STEVENSVILLE, Mich. — A Michigan junior varsity football player is being disciplined after a video of him injuring an opposing player during a football game in Stevensville last week.

On Thursday, Sept. 18, Courtney Mims shared a video of her son being injured during a JV football game between Kalamazoo Central High School and Lakeshore High School. The disturbing video shows a Kalamazoo Central player jumping on top of her son, Colton, as a play is concluding.

The Kalamazoo Central player is seen knocking Colton down during the play, then getting up and jumping on top of him while he’s lying on the ground. Mims said in a Facebook post the injury to Colton is “believed to be slight fracture on the spine.” Mlive later reported Colton’s spine was broken in two places, and he is currently recovering at home.

After the incident, Kalamazoo Central High School said in a Facebook post the student was being punished.

“The behavior was addressed, and the student has received consequences consistent with the Kalamazoo Public Schools Student Code of Conduct and in compliance with MHSAA regulations,” the post from school administration read.

The school administration called the student’s actions a “poor choice,” and added it doesn’t represent their football program, coaching staff or school values.

“An incident that occurred during the recent JV football game does not represent our football program, our coaching staff, or the values of our school community. This was the action of an individual student who made a poor choice, acting on a social media video not connected to our team or coaches,” the post said.

Mims provided an update early Monday morning, saying some Kalamazoo Central players personally messaged with apologies, saying they didn’t stand behind the player’s decision to jump on Colton.

The “consequences” for the student who was filmed jumping on Colton were not given by the school.

“These are young people still learning and growing and they deserve to be treated with dignity, even when a poor decision has serious consequences. Lives were changed in a single moment, and I am devastated that a child was injured. There must be accountability, there must be consequences, and there must also be room for learning, healing, and moving forward,” the Kalamazoo Central High School principal wrote. “We are a community. We do not tear down children in public forums. I ask that we all rise above, support both families, and set an example of the kind of world we want our students to build.”

You can read the full letter to parents from Lakeshore Public Schools here:

Dear Lakeshore students, staff and families,

At Lakeshore Public Schools, our number one priority is the safety and wellbeing of our students.

I would like to provide an update to our families, staff and students regarding an incident that occurred during the Sept. 18 junior varsity football game between Lakeshore and Kalamazoo Central.

Following a play, a Kalamazoo Central student body slammed a Lakeshore student who was laying on the ground. This incident was an intentional, unprovoked and flagrant violation of the rules and appropriate sports conduct and resulted in an injury to one of our Lakeshore student athletes.

We wish the Lakeshore student a speedy recovery and we are in regular communication with his family regarding this matter. We also have put in place supportive measures to ensure our student athlete can continue his education while he recovers.

The incident, which was captured on video and shared widely on social media and across media outlets, is totally unacceptable and has no place in student athletics. The superintendent of Kalamazoo Public Schools has apologized for the incident and applied serious disciplinary consequences to their student athlete consistent with its student policies and code of conduct.

Following the incident, both varsity teams came together before their game on Sept. 19 to say a prayer for the injured student in a showcase of sportsmanship and compassion.

We are closely monitoring the situation, and we will provide updates when available and appropriate to share. We also continue to wish our student athlete a speedy recovery from injuries sustained.

Lakeshore Public Schools superintendent