KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Jake Rosebaugh’s doctors say he is still in recovery after he was the victim of an alleged assault during a high school football game. He’s been out of school for five weeks now and the Rosebaughs say they don’t have the money to cover all of their medical bills.
“I remember getting up, and then getting hit in the back of the head, and then I remember walking to the ambulance,” said 17-year-old Rosebaugh.
He said during the Platte County vs. Winnetonka high school football game on October 18, he and a Colin Byrd, a Platte County High School football player, exchanged physicality back and forth, the way boys do in football, then it got physical.
“When I saw the initial hit, him taking my son’s helmet off, ripping my son’s helmet off his head, I thought, no, no, no, and I saw him bring the helmet back. He struck Jake, and my heart sank to my knees,” Curtis, father, said.
Curtis was at the game. He said he saw his son jump up initially, and knew instantly something was wrong.
“I saw him grab his head, and go back down to his knees,” Curtis said. “I started gathering my stuff up, and we met at the ambulance. And when I walked into the ambulance, I asked Jake, ‘Bud, are you okay?’ and he said, ‘No, dad, all I can see is stars.'”
When Jake awoke the next day, his condition hadn’t improved.
“The next morning when I woke up, I was really light-headed,” he said. “I couldn’t look at any light, and everything gave me a headache.”
The doctor told him he had a severe concussion.
“I’m going to go back (to school) and try to get caught up with whatever I can, so I’ll have to extend a semester or take summer school to pass high school,” he said.
Curtis said it’s just a game, but it’s uncalled for to be taken to a level where his son gets a concussion.
“Of all my years I’ve watched pro, college, high school, I’ve never seen this happen,” said Curtis. “The devil got into him.”
The Byrd family did not want to comment, and their attorney did not comment on specifics of the case.
“It’s an unfortunate circumstance,” said Anthony Bologna. “Took place at a sanctioned athletic event in high school, obviously both of the young men involved are teenagers, and unfortunately one is injured and my client, the other is now facing criminal charges.”
Jake has been playing football since 8th grade, and said this incident won’t stop him from continuing.
“I love football with all my heart,” he said. “I’m going to go back as strong as I can next year.”
Curtis told FOX 4’s Melissa Stern that he has left the case in the hands of the prosecuting attorney. He also said he doesn’t think jail time is the answer. He thinks community service, a few years probation, and anger management would be best.
“I just hope and pray that justice will be served, and not be falling through the cracks of the justice system,” he said.
