HELENA, Mont. (AP) — The Belt High football coach and the school district are denying any negligence in the injuries that left a 16-year-old football player a quadriplegic who cannot speak or care for himself.

Attorney Roger Witt of Great Falls responded Monday to a March lawsuit filed by Robert Back, his father and stepmother. The lawsuit alleged coach Jeff Graham knew Back suffered a concussion during a September 2014 game and that he was not to participate in football for a week. However the lawsuit says Graham or a trainer verbally "cleared" Back to play in the next game. He collapsed on the sideline.

The response says Graham did not receive a medical note or any information from the boy's doctor and did not clear Back to play the night he collapsed.

 

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