Family of injured college American football player files criminal complaint

Yasutoshi Okuno, father of the injured player, bows before a news conference in Osaka on Monday.

Why in the hell is HE bowing like he or his son did something wrong here? He's got nothing to be sorry for, and I'll bet it's the press/media that pushed him into having the press conference.

It was truly a nasty hit, and as one who has played football many years ago, plays like that would have gotten the offender a arse-kicking at the least, from where I come from!

It's uncalled for, and thankfully it was caught on video. The offender won't see jail time, and will probably get off with a suspended sentence, but it's the coach who needs to get nailed if in fact he ordered the hit!

I cannot believe any coach would intruct his players to “rough up” a rival player. Surely this is very uncommon in American football?

I wish the young man a complete recovery.

For any of you who didn't see this, it was a VERY late hit. The play was over and the quarterback was walking off the field and that guy nailed him from behind completely unexpectedly

Ganbare Japan! I guess you have never heard of "bountygate" then, where coaches from the New Orleans Saints put prices on the injuries their players would afflict on the opposing teams players.

That playoff game between the Saints and Vikings, Brett Farves last game was brutal the way they were running at him and hitting him after the ball was released.

Just saw the video on YouTube... it was almost if not criminal in its execution. Player 91 was in a position to see that the ball had already been thrown by the QB, so he should have known but he still made a diving knee high tackle from behind at full force well after the throw. In addition player 91 had two other personal fouls the same day. If he was coached to do so.... the coach should be fired and the player also banned from Football. If he was not, then yes, ban the player.

The coach and the player should be kicked off the team and prosecuted

I cannot believe any coach would instruct his players to “rough up” a rival player. Surely this is very uncommon in American football?

Yeah it's uncommon, but not unheard of either, (as noted by the comment by Mark X) and it appears that Japanese coaches are not immune from it either.

 In addition player 91 had two other personal fouls the same day

If this is in fact true, then there are a few other major problems with the overall program here.

The player should have been kicked out of the game if he had two personal fouls previously in the same game. This incident should NEVER have happened if this is the case!

Wow! I used to work for Nihon University in one of their Tokyo campuses a little over 10 years ago. There are alot of unsavory practices going on over there. Heavy heavy boozing by the instructors. Not a very savory institution.

Why in the hell is HE bowing like he or his son did something wrong here? He's got nothing to be sorry for, and I'll bet it's the press/media that pushed him into having the press conference.

Exactly! I wouldn't have.

Irresponsible play indeed. However, this kind of thing happens in contact sport. It's not tiddlywinks!

I cannot believe any coach would instruct his players to “rough up” a rival player. Surely this is very uncommon in American football?

Actually this is very common. I was photographer for my school yearbook and was on the sidelines during a lot of games. There were instructions given to take shots, cheap or otherwise, at critical players all the time.

It wasn't as blatant as the NO Saints paying players but it didn't much matter how the game was won.

That player and coach don't belong on the field. They should "ply their trade" in the octagon.

Just watched the video.

Late hit. 100% This player was instructed to take the other teams QB out of the game.

I am no expert on Football. But I played in H.S. I watch college ball and the NFL.

Football is a passion of mine. If it comes to light the coach ordered that hit.

He should be liable for all medical costs and be banned from coaching forever. Jail maybe too severe.

The QB is on the mend. As far as the player and the hit. The problem with Japan sometimes. They do not give second chances. I am sure he regrets the hit. Suspend him. PT him and make him practice. But bench him until the new coach feels he truly regrets the hit.

Perhaps he is bowing at the beginning of the press conference as is done in this safety island country.

I watched a few late hits (unneccesary roughness and personal foul) in the NFL on YouTube. FIrst response by the officials: eject the offending player from the game, the field, and the stadium. First response by the coach is often anger, a lot of anger.

Also, if an NFL coach tells a player to rough up an opponent, the player is usually smart enough to do it so it looks legitimate. I.e. during a play, not after it’s over.

I believe the coach told this player to hit the QB but the way he did it was idiotic, cheap, and excessive.

One question that I haven't seen in all this is why didn't the ref eject 91 immediately after the hit? From what I've gathered this guy had three personal fouls and then was ejected. That hit was not within the bounds of the game and should be seen as criminal assault. Whatever the Japanese equivalent of the NCAA is they should retrain the refs to immediately eject players that engage in this type of play. Nichi Dai's coach also needs to be relieved of his post within the university and not just his position as head coach. Criminal culpability. Just one name these people need to remember. Darryl Stingley.

It's a full-contact sport and I think QBs and kickers are wrapped in cotton wool these days. Nevertheless, this hit was egregious and over 2 seconds after the QB had released the ball. Need to be a bit more subtle than that, Taro.

In the US that kind of hit would have started a brawl. It’s surprising how disciplined the victim’s teammates were.

Oh, my! I have never seen Kanto .. like Kanto plains spelled Kantoh. The use of that h is ridiculous. Much like Otani written as Ohtani when we well know Osaka is not spelled Ohsaka. Yes, it was a cheap shot!

The player who injured the quarterback will hold a press conference in Tokyo on Tuesday, according to his representative. The player is expected to say the controversial play was on the instruction of Uchida, according to a source close to the matter.

Good, hope he comes clean. I would like to think it was 'just' a brain snap. We all make mistakes and i dont think his football career should be over but a lengthy ban (6-12 months) and some sort of community service (at hosp/rehab centre helping paralyzed ppl for example) seems appropriate considering such illegal hits from behind can result in paralysis & must be stamped out of the game.

Japanese shouldn't play football. This sport is not meant for players weighing less than 250 lbs minimum, and almost no Japanese player weigh that much.

Just keep playing soccer. Even the football is in a steady decline in the US following the brain injury controversy.

Japanese shouldn't play football. This sport is not meant for players weighing less than 250 lbs minimum, and almost no Japanese player weigh that much.

People can do whatever the heck they want no matter what their size and ethnicity is.

The player that inflicted the damage has played with the Japanese national team. He was being bullied for refusing to "break" the other players and wasn't receiving any playing time. Before this particular game, the player pleaded with his coach to be put in the game and the coach told him only if he "breaks" the other team.

apanese shouldn't play football. This sport is not meant for players weighing less than 250 lbs minimum, and almost no Japanese player weigh that much.

Where do you get off telling a whole nation isn't fit to play a sport due to their size. Same could be said about rugby in Japan. For year they weren't taken seriously and get pretty much trashed by half decent teams, then one day they beat giants South Africa and have been a pretty good team since. Also no normal person weighs 250lbs without training or overweight.

Japanese shouldn't play football. This sport is not meant for players weighing less than 250 lbs minimum, and almost no Japanese player weigh that much.

Do you know anything about football? Most non- lineman are under 250 lbs. I guess Tom Brady (225 pounds), Julio Jones (225) , Wes Welker (185), Darrelle Revis (198) Lawrence Taylor (235) should have never laced up cleats. Brady and Taylor are probably the greatest offensive and defensive players respectively.

A football team has players in all shapes and sizes

About the late hit. Japan does not have much of a football culture. Growing up in the States, I remember seeing in the news about HS, college and Pro players getting life altering injuries. Maybe players don't realize how dangerous of a sport they are playing. That hit was unthinkable in the States. The opposing coach should have yanked his players from the game.

I agree this play was cheap and dirty, but the fact it is a top 5 news story the past week on all the news networks here is absurd so is nothing newsworthy happening in Japan right now? N.K. denuclearisation not more important? Japanese spy agencies using Xkeyscore? Or does there have to be another 50 year old "boy" band singer harassing H.S. girls this week to knock this minor story off the front headlines?

You are supposed to be mature enoigh after 18 not tofollow an order against the rules first as a player.

Then the coach should be fired for good then. Sports is sports, not a criminal theater like gladiators.

What has the father to do ? Okhis son is a kid in Japan law lol.

Here's a thought, what if it wasn't the coach who told him to do it, but some yakuzas who were controlling betting on the game. More reason to keep his mouth closed.

Here's a thought, what if it wasn't the coach who told him to do it, but some yakuzas who were controlling betting on the game. More reason to keep his mouth closed.

Guess you didn't hear about his press conference where he told all. Your conspiracy theories sometimes are just too overboard.

I'm sure the "criminal complaint" will disappear when money changes hands.