Xavier Prep quarterback King Pellum and father Roman discuss status, concern for safety protocols going forward
Xavier Prep sophomore quarterback King Pellum and his father Roman visited the KESQ studio on Wednesday to discuss King's status and concern for safety protocols going forward.
NEW: We're hearing from King Pellum and his father Roman for the first time since the Xavier Prep QB had to be airlifted from a football game back on August 30th at Coachella Valley HS. King is out of concussion protocol but student-athlete safety remains paramount. @KESQ pic.twitter.com/WsdEvQAi1Z
— Blake Arthur (@BlakeArthur24) September 19, 2024
King was airlifted from the first game of the season on Aug. 30 at Coachella Valley High School. He's currently out of concussion protocol and expected to return to the field soon.
Kingston told Sports Director Blake Arthur that this process has given him perspective and gratitude.
"Just like a step forward to get closer to God after the situation that happened. I've been out for three weeks, so I'm just ready to come back for my team and finish what we started," said Pellum.
The sophomore QB is expected to return to the field for the Saints against Aquinas next week or for their first league game against rival Palm Desert.
King's father Roman, who was on the scene the night of Friday, Aug. 30th said he was concerned for his son but had to remain strong.
"He kept looking up at me and kept looking up, looking for me, you know, I had to jump the fence to get to him," said Roman Pellum.
"By the time I got to him, he says, 'dad, is that you?' He couldn't even see. He was going in and out of consciousness. So, at that point, I feel like I just had to hold my composure because if I lose it, then, you know, he'd lose it, too," said Roman Pellum.
Roman remains to be a concerned parent, wanting there to be better safety protocols in place for the student athletes at these sporting events.
He went on to say that he wants to be an advocate for change and bring more awareness to the issue.
"The protocol was in place after the fact," said Pellum. "I want to become an activist for the safety and the protocol. The trauma staff should be at every game. And I think I'm gonna push the issue for that because this could have went left for mine, but it didn't. So I want to make sure it doesn't go left for some others."
Watch the full interview tonight at 10:00 p.m. on Fox 11 and 11:00 p.m. on News Channel 3.
