A disturbing new trend on the Internet is under scrutiny after a 14-year-old boy had to have his right testicle removed.
David Gibbons of Crosby, Minn., was punched in the groin by a classmate at Crosby Ironton High School, part of a game known as “sack tapping.”
“I couldn’t even sit straight,” the 14 year old told a reporter from NBC affiliate KARE in Minneapolis.
And evidence of this disturbing game can be found all over the Internet in the form of YouTube.com videos. The object of the game is to punch your opponent in the groin before he can punch you.
According to 13-year-old Ramy Sidhom of Middle Village, Queens, this game is all the rage in the halls of his Queens middle school.
“I guess it’s kind of funny,” said Sidhom, “to see people in pain. We just do it for fun.”
But Sidhom did not laugh about two weeks ago when a seventh grader passed him in the hallway and hit him so hard he fell to the ground.
“I lost my breath for like 15 or 20 seconds.”
Amputations are extreme but Dr. Jeffrey Rabrich of St. Luke’s Roosevelt in Midtown says the consequences of such a game are still severe.
"There can be prolonged swelling where there can be damage,” said Dr. Rabrich. “Or you can continue to swell from time to time throughout many years to come. And still the swelling might be permanent and not able to be corrected."
In light of Gibbons’ experience, Sidhom is now reconsidering this game.
“I’m going to try and stop it,” said Sidhom. “Because I wouldn't want to get hurt or hurt someone else or some of my friends."
