Nipomo football player released from hospital following ‘bad concussion’

Nipomo High School running back Michael Jordan was at home resting Saturday afternoon after suffering a concussion during a game against Arroyo Grande on Friday night.

Jordan, the Titans’ leading rusher, suffered what Nipomo head coach Tony Dodge called a “bad concussion” that stopped the game in a frightening scene late in the fourth quarter.

Jordan said Saturday via text message he was knocked unconscious when he collided with an Arroyo Grande player. Shortly after the injury that left Jordan writhing on the field in pain, an ambulance was called, and paramedics, family members and coaches surrounded the injured player.

“(Jordan) mentioned a little pain in his neck, and obviously once you say that, they took all the precautions,” Dodge said Friday night after the game. “By the end of it, he was kinda coming to and he was sad. He said, ‘Am I done playing?’ I said, ‘No you will be alright, dude.’ It sucks, but hopefully he will be alright.”

After approximately 15 minutes of examination on the field, during which Jordan was talking and moving his legs, paramedics placed him in a neck brace, loaded him onto a stretcher and into the ambulance. The crowd cheered, and players from both teams lifted their helmets as the ambulance exited the field.

Jordan was taken to nearby Arroyo Grande Community Hospital and released around 11 p.m.

Jordan said Saturday he remembers being hit, but his memory from the rest of the night is foggy.

“I’m good,” Jordan wrote in a text message. “I’m glad I have people that care about me from my coaches to my friends and family. I’ll be back I promise you that.”

Dodge said Saturday that Jordan will go through the concussion protocol, which includes daily tests with the school’s athletic trainer. Jordan will need to display no post-concussion symptoms for seven days to be cleared to play, Dodge said.

Dodge said he expects Jordan to miss Friday’s game against Templeton but to return in three weeks when Nipomo plays Mission Prep on Oct. 21.

Jordan returned to Nipomo High School and the football team after not playing last season and attending school in Santa Maria. He thanked his supporters Saturday afternoon via Twitter.

This story was originally published October 1, 2016 at 12:30 AM with the headline "Nipomo football player released from hospital following ‘bad concussion’."