New information sheds light on the East Limestone High School student who claims to have been kicked off the football team after a fight broke out.
When we spoke on Wednesday, Ben Estes' father said his son was victimized. But on Thursday, I talked to another football parent, and she says her son is the only real victim here - and has the police report to prove it. The report details how Destiny Wright's son, Brayden Echols, ended up with a severe concussion and brain contusion - not from football but from a fight at practice.
"Brayden overcame Ben a couple of times, and Ben was embarrassed from that and so took it to the sideline," Wright said. "There was a little bit of shoving that went on. It's football; it's a contact sport, but he just took it to the next level - he got Brayden by his face mask, forcibly removed it, and then hit him over the head and knocked him unconscious."
Wright says her son did not even know Estes when he struck him. She had to ask a coach for his name after the fact. She said she is most disappointed with Estes' father for taking an issue as serious as bullying and using it to try and get his kid out of trouble.
"At this point, who's targeting who?" Wright asked. "You know your child is in the wrong, and instead of holding him accountable, you're pointing the finger at the victim, and it's just mind-blowing that you haven't even attempted to make a right on it. You went immediately to the news with a story your child told you."
Estes has been formally charged with aggravated assault with a weapon. Wright's son is still recovering and has had multiple visits to the ER since his week in the hospital. Wright says his doctors told her if he had been hit any farther back on his temporal lobe, he could have never woken up.
I reached out to Estes' father, who is standing by the idea that Wright's son was threatening to "get" Estes when he returned to school. But Wright says her son was in the hospital for days after being knocked unconscious, and this version of events is just the latest lie being told.
Destiny and her son BraydenÂ
