August Borden’s family suspects he was brutally attacked, not injured by a fall, and suspects Deshler High is covering it up to shield its football program.
In Tuscumbia, Alabama, a 15-year-old freshman and football player at Deshler High School, August Borden, is lucky to be alive.
But his family says what happened to him was no accident, but it was a brutal attack, and the school is trying to cover it up to protect its football program.
On Tuesday, August 19, 2025, he was at an after-school weightlifting session when everything changed.
His mother, Kristen Van Devender, got a frantic text: “You need to get here.” When she and Drew, Kristen’s husband and August’s stepfather, arrived at Deshler High, they found ambulances, police, and fire trucks.
During that time, August was in an ambulance, barely conscious.
Someone had performed CPR on him moments earlier. He was airlifted to UAB Hospital in Birmingham with a fractured skull, two broken orbital sockets, and a concussion.
Doctors said his injuries looked like someone squeezed him until he passed out, dropped him, and he hit the ground hard.
Kristen and Drew described the terrifying moments when they saw August in the ambulance. He was combative, almost delusional, and they had to hold him down and calm him.
At the hospital, tests showed no permanent brain damage, and August was sent home on Thursday.
He’s still swollen, on antibiotics, and dealing with headaches. One eye is shut, and he mostly stays in bed.
Doctors say it’ll be a couple of weeks before his brain is back to normal, and there’s a good chance he won’t need surgery. But August has no memory of what happened, which makes the school’s story even more suspicious.
Deshler High School’s Claim of No Camera Footage in August Borden’s Incident Raises Family’s Suspicions of a Cover-Up!
The Van Devenders feel the school is sweeping this under the rug to protect its football program. They are frustrated that the football coaches had little to say, calling it an “internal” matter.
Tuscumbia Police are now investigating, but they’re not sharing details yet. On Saturday, they released a statement saying they’re taking it seriously and reviewing evidence, but they’re asking for patience.
The school and district posted a vague message earlier in the week, asking for prayers for an unnamed student’s “accident” and thanking staff for their quick response.
However, the Bordens and Van Devenders aren’t buying it. They have the recordings, the medical reports, and many questions.
It was when August’s stepfather, Drew, posted about their frustration on social media that the school invited them to meet on Monday. Now, they’re hesitant to go without a lawyer.
Likewise, August’s biological father, Jason Borden, has hours of audio recordings of school officials and police.
In those recordings, school staff admitted August was put in a bear hug and dropped, but later tried to take it back.
Multiple staff members were just ten feet away when it happened, yet no one stepped in.
When police arrived, faculty told them August “just fell,” so no case was opened until his stepfather, Jason, filed one himself.
Likewise, the school also claimed there’s no camera footage of the front entrance where it happened, even though cameras cover every hallway, parking lot, and even the empty stadium seats.
That doesn’t add up. The superintendent promised transparency but went silent and denied his own words when pressed.
Meanwhile, while August was fighting for his life in the ICU, Deshler High suited up and played its opening football game as if nothing had happened.
