Certain things just don't belong on a football field, and bashing an opponent's face with his own helmet certainly falls into that category.
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That's what happened in a game between Blountstown High School and Marianna High School on Saturday in Blountstown, Florida. The video of the incident is disturbing:
This is absolutely sickening!
Florida high school football player snaps slamming an opponent's head off the ground multiple times and hit him in the head with the helmet.
The young man hit was airlifted to Tallahassee hospital. What is going on in football? pic.twitter.com/00lP4rmzeA
— NFL Draft Diamonds (@DraftDiamonds) September 12, 2023
The incident took place in the third quarter. As you can see, Blountstown player Gavin Lambeth tackled Marianna's Ethan Lipford and didn't stop there. Lambeth shoved Lipford's head onto the ground, pulled his helmet off and then swung it at Lipford's face, all while Lipford lay there defenseless.
According to CBS42, Lipford needed to be airlifted to Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare after he "couldn't walk or talk." Lambeth was instantly ejected from the game and received a one-game suspension, a decision that is pending via the Florida High School Athletic Association.
Marianna head coach Jack Glover told WJHG that Lipford was fine after he was checked for concussion symptoms and fractures. Marianna won the game 42-18, improving to 3-0. It remains to be seen if Lipford will play the next game, but there's no doubt Lambeth deserves to be suspended for more than one game.