Victim’s Side Reports to Police over Football Tackle

May 22, 2018

Osaka- The father of an injured member of Kwansei Gakuin University's American football team said Monday that his family has reported to police over a dangerous tackle by an opponent player in a recent match.

At a news conference in the western Japan city of Osaka, the father, Yasutoshi Okuno, said he, along with his wife and the injured player, submitted a complaint to the Osaka prefectural police.

The case will be investigated by Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department, as the match in which the victim was injured by a member of Nihon University's team took place in Chofu, a Tokyo city.

Nihon University has made no clear explanation about the dirty play so far. The player who made the tackle will hold a press conference in Tokyo on Tuesday.

During the regular match in Chofu on May 6, the Kwansei Gakuin quarterback received a tackle from behind by a third-grader member of the Nihon University two seconds after throwing the ball.

The quarterback suffered injuries in his lower back and knee, which will take three weeks to fully recover.

Masato Uchida, head coach of the Nihon University team, apologized directly to the Kwansei Gakuin team's head coach, Hideaki Toriuchi, the injured student and his father in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, western Japan, on Saturday, nearly two weeks after the match.

Regarding the apology, Okuno said he has not been satisfied because it remains unclear whether Uchida told the player to make the tackle.

After the incident, Okuno consulted the police on May 9. He decided to file a complaint because Nihon University did not make clear explanations.

"I cannot understand at all" why the apology was given so late, Okuno said. He added he will have to consider suing Nihon University and related people depending on how things will develop.

Meanwhile, Nihon University received a letter of resignation from Uchida on Saturday, officials said.

The letter said he would quit as head coach of the American football team but did not say anything about his posts at the university, according to the officials. Jiji Press