Mass. High School Football Player Hospitalized After Suffering ‘Traumatic Brain Injury’ in Thanksgiving Game

A Massachusetts high school football player was hospitalized with a “traumatic brain injury” following a “disturbing” injury during a game on Thanksgiving Day, according to local officials.

Sharon High School sophomore Rohan Shukla was taken to Massachusetts General hospital in Boston after he collapsed on the football team’s sideline “after an injury during play,” the school’s superintendent Peter J. Botelho and principal Kristen Keenan announced in a joint statement over the weekend.

“The trainer, coaches, and emergency personnel responded immediately, and the game was terminated,” the school officials said in their statement, adding that the sophomore student “is currently being treated at Mass General, and his parents have been sharing information about his condition with Principal Keenan and me.”

“Our thoughts and prayers are going out to Rohan, his parents Abhishek and Deepika, and his twin brother Naman during this incredibly difficult time,” Botelho and Keenan wrote. “While offering our heartfelt support, we respect the family’s privacy and consideration. As we learn more about Rohan’s condition, we will share it with our concerned community as appropriate.”

The school officials announced that counselors would be made available to students over the weekend, noting that “when one of the members of our community suffers in such a disturbing incident, it is understandable for his classmates, staff, and community members to respond with fear, sadness, and questions.”

Shukla’s injury happened on a play that took place with about two minutes left in the first half, the Boston Herald reported. The team was playing its annual Thanksgiving Day game against local Oliver Ames High School. Both teams’ head coaches took to social media on Friday to ask the community for help raising money for Shukla’s family.

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One of Shukla’s teammates launched a GoFundMe fundraiser following the Thanksgiving game incident, raising $25,920 for the Shukla family by the time the fundraiser ended.

Shayak Saha, one of Shukla’s teammates who was on the field when the sophomore collapsed, told local WCVB the incident was “very sad” and that “it was very painful to see one of our brothers get hurt.”

“We all know he’s a very strong kid, we’re all there for him right now,” Saha said about his injured classmate. “The whole community is praying for him, keeping him in our thoughts. So as sad as it is, we all know he is going to push through because he’s a very strong kid.”