Teen Dies After Playing Tackle Game Made Famous by Social Media

Social media can be deadly. A 19-year-old New Zealand man died while playing a game inspired by a social media trend, the local police revealed in a press release.

Inspector Ross Grantham said that the teen was playing a tackle game with friends when he suffered a serious head injury. His pals took him to the hospital, but he wound up dead the day after the incident.

Per the press release, the late teen and his friends were playing a game “based on a social media-driven trend, where participants compete in full-contact collisions without protective gear.”

“While this was an impromptu game among friends, not a planned event, this tragic outcome does highlight the inherent safety concerns with such an activity,” Grantham said. “We would urge anyone thinking about taking part in a game or event like this to consider the significant safety and injury risks.”

Teen Who Died Doing Social Media Trend Identified

Multiple outlets identified the late teen as Ryan Satterthwaite.

As for the game Satterthwaite and his pals were playing, The New Zealand Herald reported that it was based on the “Run It Straight” social media trend.

The outlet described the trend as “the world’s fiercest new combat sport” where two people run full speed at each other until they collide. “Victory belongs to the one who dominates the collision,” the outlet reported.

“Unfortunately takes a death to make people take notice and to stop these high injury risk activities,” Professor Patria Hume, a sports scientist and injury prevention expert, told the outlet. “Ryan’s death was preventable. We need people to stop participating in activities where the intention is to hurt someone.”

In addition to social media users’ attempts, Run It Straight events have been held. They are offering big cash prizes for the winners. At one recent Runit Championship League event, three of the eight competitors had to forfeit due to injury, the outlet reported.

“Any contact sport like boxing, martial arts, or combat-style activities should only be held in highly-controlled environments, which include professional medical supervision and support,” a spokesperson for the league told the outlet.

“All RUNIT events follow established protocols, including screening of participants for suitability, strict guidelines around where and how to tackle (between the shoulders and hips only), with qualified medical support and medical assessments conducted both during and after competition.”