The family of a Vietnamese American high school football player in Seattle is struggling to adjust to life without their son after he died from a football-related concussion.
Kenny Bui, 17, is the fourth U.S. high school football player to die in a month. He stepped off the field during a game on October 2 in a daze. His eyes closed. He never woke up. The autopsy lists the cause of death as blunt forced trauma.
“He was a great kid and had respect,” Ngon Bui said to Les Carpenter of the Guardian. “I would be talking to my friends and always he comes up and talks to them, people he didn’t know. He had so much respect.”
The family had tried to convince their son several times to quit football and take up another sport. They feared the sport would be too dangerous for the 150 pound, 5’8″ player. Kenny didn’t want to hear it even after tearing the ligaments in his knees two years ago and again last month when he suffered a mild concussion.
The father explained that in the Vietnamese culture, the family makes the decisions for the children, except when it comes to extracurricular activities.
LATEST STORIES
“I know where he’s coming from, too,” says Joe Van, a Highline school board member, who was raised by Vietnamese immigrants. “I’m from a family of 10, and you know what? The parents do make the decision as far as your academics, but when sports and extracurricular activities come into play, mom and dad let you do it.”
The parents have been extremely compassionate toward school administrators who have offered the family their condolences.
You can read that part of the story in the Guardian.
