Boy loses testicle due to being punched in groin

[SplitDik (imported)]

http://www.ksdk.com/news/local/story.as ... ovider=top

I'm not really sure why they post a picture of the boy -- with a testicle implant people might never really know what happened to him, but now every future coworker or girlfriend will find out ...

"Sack tapping" prank costs boy a testicle

CROSBY, Minn. -- Pain is the operative word in the unfortunate story of 14-year-old David Gibbons. It is a pain he has endured both physically and emotionally after being punched in the groin by another student as he changed classes at Crosby Ironton High School.

"One o'clock in the morning he woke me up and told me he was in excruciating pain," recalls Christy Gibbons, David's mom. Not long after, David was in surgery at St. Joseph's Hospital in Brainerd having his right testicle removed.

"This may be called a game, but it's not a game. It's dangerous and it needs to stop," said Christy.

Moms are talking about THE "GAME" and the conversations they plan to have with their own sons about it on our companion website, MOMSLIKEME.COM.

It's a notion seconded by Dr. Scott Wheeler, a Brainerd urologist.

"It's just gotten way out of control," said Wheeler, who now performs "three to four surgeries a year" on boys with ruptured testicles and other complications of being groin punched - with dozens more coming in with less severe injuries. "It's high school, junior high, elementary school," said Wheeler.

Dubbed "sack tapping" by some students, the practice is now featured in dozens of homemade videos on YouTube.

"We're gonna see who our first victim is," says a student in one video before punching an unsuspecting male student in the groin as he walked down a school hallway.

It is painful to watch and Dr. Wheeler says increasingly common. "All parents, you need to have this talk with your kids not to do it. It's lost its humor. It's not a game anymore. People get hurt."

"I don't know how to stop it," said David, who says he's been the recipient of similar attacks in the past. His parents pulled him out of school and are now planning a move to a different school district.

Jamie Skjeveland, superintendent of Crosby Ironton schools, says the investigation of the incident involving David is complete, but he declined to comment on any disciplinary action for privacy reasons.

On Wednesday morning the Gibbons are scheduled to meet with Crow Wing County Attorney Don Ryan to learn if criminal charges will be filed against the other student.

"This kid doing that, he should definitely be held responsible for that," said Denny Gibbons, David's dad.

Doctors have told David that even though he lost a testicle in the attack, he should still be able to have children someday.

David's mom mostly wants other parents to be aware. "I seen the pain he was in. I seen what he went through every day, and it just breaks my heart and I don't want any other child to have to go through this."

[A-1 (imported)]

This is bullshit.

These bastards who do this need to have to wear handcuffs and waist chains. 2nd offense, leg irons.

If the Supreme Court rules THIS (http://www.alternet.org/rights/146946/s ... ffenders_i ndefinitely%3A_why_that%27s_dangerous/?page=entire) as constitutional then those little bastards should have to wear handcuffs at while at school.

That will keep them from assaulting other students...

[Paolo]

This happened to a fellow student of Nephew2 here about 3 years ago, when he was 14. Same story - he figured the pain would stop, but in the middle of the night, he was in the ER. He lost his left testicle, and his right one was extensively repaired.

Long story short, word got out via Nephew2 the next day that "Uncle Psycho" was threatening to come to school, along with "Mama-K" (well known for threatening to elastrate her son in front of the jr. hi. football team!) to take revenge on any suspected 'taggers'. The rates of "tagging" decreased dramatically after that.

My solution would be to find out who did it, and simply remove one of his testicles as payment.

[Babbygirl (imported)]

Our exploration of the fetish is one thing, what is now becoming widespread among our youth is another. It is not surprising though, when nearly every movie has a scene or more, in which guys are subjected to blows beneath the waist. I agree that a guilty party, should be forced to surrender in a highly publicized fashion, one of his own precious jewels!!!

[A-1 (imported)]

Our exploration of the fetish is one thing, what is now becoming widespread among our youth is another. It is not surprising though, when nearly every movie has a scene or more, in which guys are subjected to blows beneath the waist. I agree that a guilty party, should be forced to surrender in a highly publicized fashion, one of his own precious jewels!!!

In front of an audience. He needs to lose BOTH...

[Dharkbus (imported)]

When someone started this crap with me in school I told them once to stop the second time i drove my foot into there gonads as hard as I could.

that shit isn't funny

[petersjc (imported)]

Apart from the bad headline-editing (more boys than jacking off? more boys than girls? more boys than ????), interesting article:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37455920/ns ... parenting/

Any chance that MSNBC would post a link to EA, for those unfortunate boys whose bollocks didn't make it?? Nah, I didn't think so.

[Babbygirl (imported)]

What is new??? They have been busting nuts in the movies since at least the 70's!!! I expect the internet has moved the games a long!!! I think every man should get his egg sack ground! Personally, I prefer to use my sexy peds!

[JesusA (imported)]

Another article on the subject:

Groin-punch ‘game’ harms more boys

Injuries from ‘sack-tapping’ attacks on the rise, doctors say

By JoNel Aleccia

Health writer

msnbc.com

Thurs., June 3, 2010

Though most won’t admit it unless they have to, more teen boys are being treated after cringe-worthy attacks in which they’re slapped or punched in the groin, sometimes causing serious harm requiring surgery, doctors say.

An msnbc.com poll of 100 urologists, conducted by Truth On Call, showed that 30 percent of the doctors had seen or treated pre-teen and teen boys for testicular trauma in the past year, including severe injuries caused by so-called “sack-tapping,” in which boys ambush others at school and elsewhere.

“There definitely has been a rise in the number of cases,” said Dr. Anthony Atala, a pediatric urologist and department chairman at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine and spokesman for the American Urological Association. “We know it is going up.”

The issue was highlighted by news last week that a 14-year-old Minnesota boy, David Gibbons, had to have his right testicle removed after a hallway assault. “This is, in fact, a form of bullying,” Atala said. “Someone may do that without realizing the consequences of their actions.”

Bruises, blood clots, testicular torsion — in which the organ twists up to 360 degrees — and, more rarely, testicular rupture, all are consequences of blunt force trauma to the testicles, including injuries caused by close-range punches.

Nearly 8,000 boys and young men ages 10 to 20 were treated for pubic region injuries in the nation’s emergency rooms last year, according to estimates from the Consumer Product Safety Commission. That’s up from about 7,300 injuries in 2008 and about 5,500 in 2007.

Most of those injuries were caused during sports or by accidents involving bicycles or skateboards, a review of cases reveals. But a growing number have been caused by so-called games known variously as “sack-tapping,” “nut tag,” or “Roshambo,” after a 1998 episode of the animated series “South Park” that popularized the painful practice.

Most young victims don’t want to admit they’ve participated, willingly or not.

Reluctant victims

That was the case with the 13-year-old boy treated last year by Dr. B. Sophia Ford-Glanton in Hannibal, Mo. The boy suffered sudden excruciating groin pain, but was reluctant to discuss how he was injured. He asked his parents to leave the exam room and then revealed that he’d been struck during rough horseplay with friends.

“He was kind of vague about what happened,” she said.

The boy required surgery to remove dead tissue from his testicle, but was fortunate that the organ will still function, Ford-Glanton said.

“It’s hard to believe someone would think it’s fun to see how much pain someone could take from something like this,” she said. 

Doctors and anti-bullying advocates say the recent rise in viral media outlets means that behaviors that were once confined to a certain school or region now spread quickly through online videos and news stories. Dozens of home videos posted to YouTube, for instance, chronicle groin-punch incidents.

Publicizing the behavior can exacerbate the problem, said Stan Davis, founder of the group Stop Bullying Now! of Wayne, Maine. Media reports may imply that the behavior is common or normal and certain language can minimize the seriousness of the actions, said Davis, also author of the book “Schools Where Everyone Belongs: Practical Strategies for Reducing Bullying.”

“No matter what playful names are used to describe this, it is sexual assault with the potential to do serious harm,” Davis said.

Still, parents, school officials and community members must become aware of the problem so that they can stop it, said Atala, the urologist.

“You need to tell children, ‘Don’t let anybody hit you there; if they do, let me know,’” he said. “We need to let them know this will not be tolerated.”

A reflection of our society’

Signs of testicular injury include severe pain, nausea, vomiting and difficulty walking. Pain can last days or weeks without treatment. Testicular torsion and testicular rupture must be treated immediately, within hours, to have any hope of salvaging the organ.

Judy Kuczynski, president of Bully Police USA, based in Minneapolis, urges passage of anti-bullying laws now enacted in at least 43 states to help stem the problem. She believes only clear structure and firm consequences for egregious behavior such as “sack-tapping” will curb what she sees as a growing tolerance for cruel acts.

“If you look at everything in our society, if you look at the reality TV shows, you seen an escalation of nastiness,” she said. “Our kids are only a reflection of our society.”

© 2010 msnbc.com

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37455920/ns ... parenting/

Downloaded: Thursday, June 3, 2010

There is a link to a 2 minute interview of the 14 year-old boy from the original MSNBC article.

.

[JesusA (imported)]

And yet another article. This one from the Placebo Journal, a weekly satirical newsletter for doctors. An occasional article is serious.

Watch Your Sack

Another teenager has lost his testicle to "sack tapping". What has this world come to? I had never heard of this sport but it seems all the rage in Minnesota. David Gibbons, 14, was changing classes in his high school when he was attacked by another teenage who punched his scrotum. One urologist in the article claims to have to amputate around 3 to 4 testicles a year due to this game. [Emphasis added] They are pushing for a ban on this habit because as the doctor states, "

It's lost its humor. It's not a game anymore. People get hurt."

I think they need to make some billboards saying such things as:

"Got a sac?"

"Don't hurt'em - let'em keep their scrotum."

"There are so many other ways to have a ball....and keep one, too."

"Don't be a nut and lose your nuts."

"Sac tapping ends up in testicle whacking!"

Anyone else have any ideas?

Editor's Note - After writing this I was informed that my teenage sons play a similar game at school called "bag tagging". I am so out of the loop.

Placebo Gazette, Issue #154 (June 6, 2010)

http://www.placebojournal.com/shopexd.asp?id=350