Northeast High Football Player Loses Leg After Injury

Northeast High School’s Leshawn Williams lost his lower right leg following an injury during the team’s match against Clearwater.

Williams, a senior defensive lineman, suffered a serious knee injury during the latter part of the first half, the Tampa Bay Times reported. He was ultimately taken to Bayfront Hospital when blood clots began to cause problems with the injury.

“I never cried so much in my life,” Williams tweeted on Saturday. “Waiting on the results! Can’t move my toes.”

By Monday, the determined teen was tweeting his room number to friends, asking them to come visit.

“I gotta pull through this,” he tweeted Saturday. “This ain’t me.”

Williams’ injury caps off a month where high school football player deaths have made national news. Three high school football players died in a single week due to game-related activities. Two of those players died following collisions on the field, the third collapsed during pre-game warm-ups, Time reported.

In 2013, eight high school football players died as a result of playing the game, Healthline reported. Half of those injuries occurred during actual games. Most of the deaths were related to brain injuries.

Williams’ injury delayed Friday’s Northeast game by about 30 minutes, the Times reported. The team went on to earn a 42-30 victory over Clearwater.

As Williams recuperates, an outpouring of support for the teen has been witnessed via social media as news about the surgery to remove part of his leg has spread.

See Also:

• Olympian Raising Money for Teen Football Player Who Lost Leg
• Is High School Football Too Dangerous?
• High School Sacks Football Season Because Of Concussions