August Borden's parents are still searching for answers about what caused their son's severe injuries last week at Deshler High School, and the contradictory stories they've heard from school officials suggest that someone may be trying to cover up the truth.
"The true story here is tragic, which happened to my son," Jason Borden, August Borden's father, said. "But what's happening behind the scenes is even worse."
August Borden, a freshman preparing for his first year of high school football, suffered major head trauma last Tuesday while walking to practice after school, resulting in him being airlifted to an ICU in Birmingham, where he was treated for multiple injuries, including a fractured skull, two broken orbital sockets, a concussion, and various cuts and bruises.
Initial reports stated that he fell down a set of six stairs in front of the school; however, the parents were later told another student was involved.
"What we've been told was that he was in a group of other kids, fellow football players all headed in the same direction," Jason Borden told 1819 News. "There was some just kind of like back and forth banter going on between August and all the kids saying things to this other kid."
Both August Borden's step-father, Drew Van Devender, and Jason Borden said Bryan Murner, director of student services, told them that the other student picked up August Borden in a "bear hug," after which he fell to the ground unconscious.
"I asked him [Murner] what happened, he said there was just some roughhousing going on, and he and another individual ... were roughhousing. He bear hugged him and dropped him. That's all he told me," Van Devender said.
The two dads said they were even given the name of the other student who was allegedly responsible.
"I don't know why he chose August," Jason Borden said. "…This is just based on what they're telling me, but it seems like they're leaning more towards the narrative being that this kid picked up August, and August passed out or had a seizure or something, which we know — he spent 24 hours under an EEG machine. There is no seizure, and at some point from that bear hug, August passed out, and then August hit the ground."
1819 News attempted to contact Murner via email, but has not received a response. However, he has since tried to backtrack that story, according to Van Devender and Jason Borden.
Jason Borden said that coach Patrick Malone said there was "some kind of scuffle involving August and another child," more like "boys being boys."
"Now you've contradicted yourself," Jason Borden said. "What they [the school] put on their Facebook page made it sound like a kid just tripped and fell."
After filing assault and battery charges with the police, Jason Borden said he accompanied a Tuscumbia City police officer to the school to speak with the school resource officer. Both officers, he said, were unaware of any violence or the possibility of another student being involved and believed it was simply an accidental fall based on what the school told them. Jason Borden said this went against what superintendent Russ Tate said shortly after the incident, that the school was taking the matter seriously and launching its own investigation.
"We went into the SRO office. He basically said that he wasn't aware of any other investigation, that this was pretty open and closed. Just a kid that fell down," Jason Borden said. "We asked him if there's video footage and he said, I don't know… That leads me to believe that there was no internal investigation and that Russ Tate, the superintendent, lied to me."
Van Devender has been calling for more transparency from the school, but so far, has not gotten any clear answers.
"I said there needs to be full transparency. And they keep promising me and promising, but I'm really not getting any answers," he said. "And I don't know if their transparency means, you know, after the next three football games are completed or not, but I mean, like in 12 hours, there needs to be some answers. You know, you need to be up at school interviewing those kids."
He continued, "I think there's a bit of a cover-up there. I can't prove anything. It's the whole town against Jason, Kristen, myself and August, it feels like. But I do appreciate the people that have stepped up and want to keep this at the top of the narrative… I'm not trying to start a revolution. I'm not trying to turn a whole town against me. I'm not trying to burn down the school. I'm just trying to get answers for my son and for his family. And we feel like we're getting a lot of this just kind of swept under the rug… And I guess me just sitting there for 48 hours looking at my son with a tube sticking out of his mouth and the machines beeping and then, drool dripping out of his mouth. I constantly had a napkin. I was wiping his mouth. You know, it does something to a parent."
August Borden was discharged from the hospital last Friday and has been recovering well at home. But Jason Borden said it is too early to tell the true extent of the damage.
"At this point, it's hard to say if we're in the clear. We're still waiting on appointments with specialists about his face," he said. "We still have to go and follow up with the neurologist to just continue to monitor his brain. He's also got a lot of heartache and embarrassment and mental health issues that have to be addressed. He seems like he's all there. He seems tired, which makes sense. Overall, I just can't stress enough how happy I am that I'm even able to talk to my son. Walking into that hospital room was like the scariest thing you can imagine."
In a recent conversation with school officials, Van Devender told them, "You're supposed to love our kids as much as we love them. You guys preach family here. I said, do the right thing. You know, do the right thing. Each one of you guys had a child that could be in this situation, do the right thing. And I'm hoping somebody can put the quality of a child's health over a program and a school tradition."
In a podcast "Catey Unfiltered," where he further detailed the timeline of events on the day of the accident, Jason Borden issued a warning to other students, claiming that if the school is trying to cover something up for the sake of sports, it might do the same to them.
"If you're a kid listening to this that goes to the school, I know it's a family. I know that that's what you've been told the entire time you've been going there. August was part of that family, too," he said. "And if they've treated him this way, they'll absolutely treat you the same way. They'd look out for number one, and that's something that you can take with you your entire workforce career because every company is exactly the same. They're always gonna look out for number one. Profits come before safety."
Jason Borden said he has recordings and evidence to back up his claims, but is waiting to see how the police investigation progresses before deciding to release them to the public.
Tate issued a statement on Facebook saying Tuscumbia City Schools is cooperating with police and praying for August Borden and his family.
August Borden's family has set up an online donation fund to help cover his medical expenses.
The community is also planning to gather this Saturday at Spring Park to pray for August Borden's recovery.
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