Parents of Minnesota high school athletes paralyzed in games push lawmakers to up insurance payouts
There was emotional testimony at the Minnesota State Capitol on Monday from parents whose kids suffered life-changing injuries playing the sports they loved.
The parents of hockey player Jack Jablonski and football player Ethan Glynn said their sons' injuries wiped them out financially.
Glynn was paralyzed in a ninth-grade Bloomington Jefferson football game in 2022. He is now a quadriplegic and requires 24/7 care.
His family says they didn't receive anything from the Minnesota High School League (MSHSL) insurance because it didn't cover ninth-grade sports.
"If he had been on a JV or varsity team, he would have been covered," said Cassidy Dirk, Glynn's mother. "The cost of paralysis is much more than medical bills. It's life-long care, home modifications, specialized equipment."
Jablonski became a quadriplegic in 2011 after being checked from behind during a high school hockey game. Because he was on JV and varsity teams, he did benefit from the MSHSL's $2 million insurance policy. But his father, Mike Jablonski, says he was quickly told that would not begin to cover lifetime expenses.
"'He said, 'Oh my God, Mike, your family will be financially ruined in the next 10 to 15 years,'" said Mike Jablonski.
The two families are seeking to up the MSHSL's lifetime payout to $10 million, with a $50,000 deductible. The students covered would include athletes, student managers, trainers and cheerleaders.
However, the MSHSL says that would be too expensive.
"I am here to talk to you about the Minnesota State High School League purchase of insurance and urge you not to adopt the bill," said Renee Corneille, a MSHSL board member.
Under questioning from the committee, MSHSL members said they had not priced out a $10 million policy, but a $5 million policy would cost $125,000 more.
Committee members seemed stunned.
"Not sure in my nine years I have been on such an intellectual, emotional roller coaster ride," said Democratic Sen. Steve Cwodzinski.
"I think we should help these families some way," said Republican Sen. Jim Abeler.
The sponsor of the bill, Democratic Sen. Scott Dibble, did give credit to the MSHSL for increasing their coverage from $2 million to $3 million, and for now including ninth graders. But he said that does nothing to help these families.
Dibble said the amount of coverage for kids now playing high school sports in not enough and simply unacceptable.
The bill is expected to move forward at the Capitol.
