Mom of former Gig Harbor quarterback sues district over late hit that hospitalized son

GIG HARBOR, Wash. — The mother of a former Gig Harbor High School quarterback is taking legal action after a late hit landed her son in the hospital.

It happened during the 2023 ‘Fish Bowl’ cross-town rivalry game against Peninsula High School.

According to a lawsuit filed Monday, the athlete suffered “acute injuries, including a broken jaw and concussion” during the second quarter of the game when he was chasing an interception return and two Peninsula blockers hit him.

The lawsuit names Peninsula School District, Peninsula High School Head Football Coach Ross Filkins, and several players as the defendants.

“We’re not trying to ruin a community event,” Attorney Kevin Hastings told KIRO 7. He is representing the family.

“In fact, it’s a very important community event, but it’s equally important that it should be going forward in a safe manner. We shouldn’t be you know encouraging kids to go in there and hurt other players. Inciting violence should not be part of the sport,” Hastings said.

The lawsuit claims the hit was the result of a “policy, practice, and custom to incite violence and target opponent quarterbacks that the Peninsula High School and its coach, Ross Filkins, created, enforced, supported, and ratified.”

It goes on to state that one of the players grabbed him “by the jersey, threw him to the ground, and “tomahawked” him in the head after the play concluded with a whistle.

According to the court documents, the athlete “laid helpless on the field for a considerable amount of time—about 30 minutes—until emergency medical personnel arrived and transported him to Tacoma General Hospital.”

“It wasn’t just a concussion and a fall down,” Hastings told KIRO 7. “This was such a violent hit that my client lost feeling in his legs for a substantial time on the field and off the field when he was eventually carted off.”

The family blames the district for the “significant delay in treatment,” saying despite knowing thousands of fans would be in attendance, it lacked the facilities and personnel to safely host the game and failed to ensure that medical personnel and emergency first responders had unobstructed access to the field.

“It’s really important for schools hosting big games like this, or really any game, to make sure there is access to players that are injured so they can be attended to medically right away and that they can be removed from the field in a timely manner,” Hastings told KIRO 7.

The 16-page court filing states that the injuries affected the boy’s performance in school, and his ability to participate in extracurricular activities, and caused him emotional distress and embarrassment.

The district disciplined coaches from both high schools following an investigation into the 2023 ‘Fish Bowl’ incident, issuing letters of reprimand and placing several on leave for an undisclosed amount of time.

KIRO 7 reached out to the Peninsula School District, who said they cannot comment on any open litigation.

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