Cheerleader in hospital after goalpost falls on her head at Oklahoma field, family says

A 15-year-old cheerleader in Oklahoma was hospitalized Monday after a football goalpost fell on her head, her grandparents said.

Jenessa Thompson, a sophomore cheerleader for Cyril High School, roughly 65 miles southwest of Oklahoma City, was airlifted to Oklahoma University Medical Center, grandfather David Thompson wrote on Facebook.

The teenager’s grandmother, Debbie Thompson, said Jenessa “shouldn’t have survived” the incident but she did and is alert.

“There were so many people that rushed to the football field and every one of them was praying hard,” Debbie Thompson wrote. “The cheerleaders didn’t fall apart when it happened, they jumped into action and lifted that massive goal post off of Jenessa’s head.”

It’s unclear how much the goalpost weighed. NFL goalposts weigh around 500 pounds, according to USA Today.

Debbie Thompson told KFOR the cheer team was posing for a picture on the goalpost when it came down on Jenessa.

Pictures shared by Kattie Liddell show the goalpost uprooted from the ground and toppled onto the field.

“Even with a broken jaw she TALKED and even with injuries and fractures she asked if she could go to school tomorrow,” Liddell wrote. “This is one tough little cookie.”

In addition to her broken jaw, Jenessa suffered a broken tooth but did not have a brain bleed, David Thompson said. The girl’s dad provided an update Tuesday afternoon, saying Jenessa’s right eye is “badly damaged” by a fracture.

“For now, she has no sight at all in her right eye,” Dan Thompson wrote. “The doctor said it is very likely that it will be permanent.”

The parking lot of the hospital was full of people showing their support for Jenessa, her grandmother wrote. A picture shared on Facebook by Cynthia Marie Smith shows a group of students gathering in prayer on the field.

“Because of what these kiddos here have been taught growing up they know that they needed to gather for their friend,” Smith said. “This speaks volumes on the amount of love and faith this community has!”

This story was originally published October 13, 2020 at 11:06 AM.