“It’s incredibly tragic for the young individual affected, their family, and their friends,” Luxon told Newstalk ZB today.
“I mean, it’s just an absolute tragedy.
“It’s a good reminder for people to take personal responsibility, for individual responsibility, to think about the activity.
“Additionally, I appeal to adults, sports figures, and celebrity influencers driving this phenomenon to deeply reflect on their roles.”
“While it’s not feasible to impose a government ban, there’s a need for personal responsibility. Those involved should profoundly contemplate their actions.”
Ryan’s uncle Peter Satterthwaite told the NZ Herald that the 19-year-old hitting his head was a “freak accident”.
He said the group of friends had “carried on celebrating, knew about the game, thought it’d be good fun to play” on Sunday after the 21st birthday the night before.
The format of the game mimicked the high-impact RUNIT sport, where two players sprint directly at each other – one as a tackler, the other a ball runner – with the goal of knocking the other down.
The NZ Herald reported the teen had emergency surgery on Sunday but couldn’t be saved from his brain injuries.
His life support was turned off on Monday night.
ManawatÅ« area commander Inspector Ross Grantham told RNZ’s Checkpoint the tackle that injured Satterthwaite was captured on film, and was “pretty unspectacular.”
“It doesn’t look like his head has hit anything hard, hasn’t hit the ground or his mate’s body or head. It’s the movement that has caused this injury,” Grantham told Checkpoint’s Lisa Owen.
“It was just an impromptu event with some mates that got together, and the two men run towards each other, and from that collision, this young man Ryan has received such a terrible injury that it’s been fatal.”
