High School Basketball Player Misses Tournament Games After Being Kicked In The Head By A Cheerleader

An Oregon high school basketball player had to be scratched from the lineup after he was kicked in the head by a cheerleader on Thursday.

Sam Barlow High School was set to take on Jesuit in the OSAA 6A Boys Basketball State Tournament when Barlow senior Sentori Martino was blindsided by a flipping cheerleader during pregame introductions. He immediately hit the floor and appeared to be in a lot of pain as his teammates rushed over to check on him. Martino was not able to play in the game.

Watch this video from Oregon Sports Network's Chris Clayton:

And here we thought court storming was the real threat!

Obviously, it was an accident, but it's still an unfortunate incident for both Martino and the cheerleader involved. You never want to see anyone go down with a potential head injury — and especially not a senior during the State Tournament.

Fortunately for Barlow, the team did just fine without Martino, putting up a dominant 69-39 win over Jesuit. Apparently still recovering, Martino did not play in Saturday's game against Grant, either. The Barlow Bruins pulled out the win, 61-58, to secure fourth place in the state tourney.

A two-sport athlete at Barlow, Sentori Martino was named a First Team All-League wide receiver and cornerback in 2023. The high school senior has committed to Sierra College (a CCCAA Class A Juco football program) as a wide receiver.