New York prep football team cancels rest of season after player's death

[Steak Snabler]

The Westfield/Brocton football team will not return to the field for the rest of this season.

The Westfield Board of Education Monday night approved the cancellation of the football season following the death of junior football player Damon Janes a week ago today.

Janes, a junior from Brocton, died three days after suffering injuries in Westfield/Brocton's Sept. 13 game at Portville.

http://blogs.buffalonews.com/preptalk/2013/09/westfieldbrocton-cancels-remainder-of-football-season.html

The team apparently voted to cancel the season, though the superintendent signed off on it. But this seems a little extreme.

We had a similar situation here a few years ago. Starting fullback for a local team collapsed in the third quarter of a game due to an undiagnosed congenital heart problem and never regained consciousness before being pronounced dead at the hospital.

And the team not only finished the season, but they finished the game. Not sure I agreed with that either, but I'm not sure canceling the rest of the season really helps a bunch of teenagers move on more than a return to routine would.

The fact that the team was 0-2 and apparently going nowhere probably made it an easier decision. It's also by all indications a pretty low level of football, so this is not exactly Mater Dei or Odessa Permian voting to cancel its season.

Still, I'm surprised by the move.

 

[Boom_70]

"in 5 years football will be gone" / Long Term Listener.

 

[LongTimeListener]

Oh, Boom. Your trolling used to be entertaining.

Tough call, but it sounds like the kids were pretty shaken and not interested in playing anyway. Hard to send them out there in those circumstances.

 

[Mark2010]

Eh, if the players don't want to play, fine. I'm sure some might be thinking: "That could have been me".

 

[HanSenSE]

But ... he wouldn't have wanted us to play on without him ...