A former Mankato State football player is in critical condition after sustaining permanent brain damage from injuries he received in an alleged assault from a former University of Minnesota football player now attending at Rutgers University.
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ESPN.com is reporting that 24-year-old Isaac Kolstad underwent surgery to put a pressure gauge in his skull and may need additional surgery, his father said.
"He is currently in critical condition and fighting for his life," Blaine Kolstad wrote. "He is young and strong, but the battle he has in front of him is enormous. ... We do know that his brain did sustain permanent damage. We do not yet know to what extent and won't for many days. He is very sick. Please pray for Isaac and all of those involved."
The Rutgers player involved, quarterback Philip Nelson, is a transfer from Minnesota who switched schools earlier this year. He was imprisoned early Sunday on suspicion of assault after officers found Kolstad in the Mankato downtown entertainment district after 2 a.m.
According to ESPN, Steph Stassen, a graduate student who told authorities she witnessed the assault, told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that the bars had just closed when "all of a sudden, this guy comes out of nowhere and sucker punches" Kolstad. Stassen and her roommate the punch did not come from Nelson but that but that a man she later learned was Nelson then kicked Kolstad in the head "like it was a soccer ball -- just out of nowhere."
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The only possible connection made so far between the players is that Kolstad played at Mankato East High School while Nelson graduated from Mankato West High School. But Kolstad is four years older than Nelson, which would seem to indicate that the two did not attend high school at the same time.
Kolstad finished his eligibility at Mankato State last season, recording 59 tackles in 12 starts. ESPN reported a candlelight vigil was held for him on Sunday evening.
Sam Thompson, who told The Associated Press that he played football with Kolstad for three years, didn't want to comment specifically on the incident because the investigation is ongoing and to respect the privacy of Kolstad's family.
Thompson did say that Kolstad has a 3-year-old daughter and his wife is pregnant.
That Nelson transferred to Rutgers is another unfortunate blight on the school's athletic program. Last year, basketball coach Mike Rice was fired after a video showing him throwing basketballs at and physically handling players went public. Rutgers athletic director Tim Pernetti also resigned.
New athletic director Julie Hermann then faced accusations that she humiliated and emotionally abused members of a Tennessee volleyball team that she coached in 1997 - allegations she denied and even saying she didn't remember a letter that all 15 volleyball players signed alleging the abuse.
She also was accused of firing an assistant coach because the assistant was pregnant. And last month, she told a journalism class it would be "great" if the New Jersey Star-Ledger died.
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