Community members and residents in Sharon are rallying after a high school football player suffered a “traumatic brain injury” during the town’s annual Thanksgiving game against Oliver Ames.
A GoFundMe has been turned off after it raised $25,920 to support sophomore Rohan Shukla, who is being treated at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and his family following the scary incident on Thursday.
Superintendent Peter J. Botelho and High School Principal Kristen Keenan wrote a letter to the community Saturday morning, alerting residents they’ve been in contact with Shukla’s parents.
Officials canceled the Thanksgiving tilt with about two minutes left in the first half.
“Sophomore Rohan Shukla was transported to Good Samaritan Hospital in Brockton and then to Massachusetts General in Boston after an injury during play and collapsing on the sidelines with a traumatic brain injury,” Botelho and Keenan wrote in their letter. “The trainer, coaches, and emergency personnel responded immediately, and the game was terminated.”
Sam Letendre, who organized the GoFundMe, posted on the fundraising page Saturday that Shukla’s family requested it be turned off after the outpouring of support. Shukla received brain surgery, Letendre added.
“Thank you to everyone who donated and for now just keep Rohan in your thoughts and prayers,” Letendre wrote.
Botelho and Keenan said they would share updates about Shukla’s condition with their “concerned community” when they learn more, as appropriate.
“Our thoughts and prayers are going out to Rohan, his parents Abhishek and Deepika, and his twin brother Naman during this incredibly difficult time,” the school officials wrote. “While offering our heartfelt support, we respect the family’s privacy and consideration.”
Counseling services will be provided at Sharon High School on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. for the football team and cheerleading squad and then from 1 to 3 p.m. “to help our other students, staff, and community members navigate these feelings associated with the situation,” the letter stated.
Botelho and Keenan also invited parents and caregivers to “talk with their children about feelings associated with the incident. Our staff will be prepared to respond to the incident with sensitivity and compassion.”
“When one of the members of our community suffers in such a disturbing incident,” they wrote, “it is understandable for his classmates, staff, and community members to respond with fear, sadness, and questions.”
A town in neighboring Connecticut is also grappling with sadness after a tragedy involving a high school football player.
A freshman on the Bloomfield Junior Warhawk football team died after collapsing at practice on Wednesday despite revival attempts by staff and emergency medical personnel, Connecticut news outlets have reported.
