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It's A Miracle Injuries Aren't More Common

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By Joe Henderson, The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 13, 2007

Doctors say Kevin Everett just might be OK. They're saying now he will walk again.

Maybe he'll be able to lead a normal life.

There was a time Sunday night when they weren't sure the tight end for the Buffalo Bills would even survive what was called a 'catastrophic' neck injury in a game against the Broncos. They were all but certain he'd be paralyzed. Now he has voluntary movement in his arms and legs following extensive surgery.

He owes that chance to walk to incredible medical care and maybe to even higher powers. It truly seems miraculous. But around the National Football League, the reality is that something like this will happen again.

Maybe the miracle is that it doesn't happen more often.

Bucs defensive end Kevin Carter has been in the league for 13 years. He's a thoughtful, almost cerebral man. It was suggested to him that while we overuse the term 'gladiator' to describe what these guys go through every week, it also is sadly apt. The mix of violence, danger and crowds is at the core of the NFL's success.

'Being a gladiator is almost the way you have to approach it,' he said. 'You're pretty much laying your body and health on the line, sacrificing your body later on to be playing now.

'The players get bigger, stronger and faster. And with the evolution of athletes as they start playing the game earlier, it's going to be even worse.'

Helmet To Helmet

Bucs quarterback Jeff Garcia was knocked from Sunday's game at Seattle after he became disoriented from a hit. He was cleared to return and played a bit before leaving the game for good when the outcome was determined. No sense adding further risk.

Garcia knows how dangerous these things can be. His dad was a college coach in California and had a player paralyzed from a hit during a game.

'I remember going to visit him in the hospital,' Garcia said. 'It's sad that in a game, a sport, you could have violence to that extent. That's the unfortunate thing about this sport, but it's the risk we take when we play the game. It's a sad fact of life, unfortunately.'

But it's not something players want to think about. They don't need to be reminded how vulnerable they really are.

Bucs quarterback Chris Simms, as we know, suffered a life-threatening injury almost a year ago when his spleen ruptured during a game. He played on through internal bleeding before finally heading to the hospital.

He hasn't played in a regular-season game since.

'Me, Bruce Gradkowski and Luke McCown were actually talking about these injuries on the sideline of the Seattle game. It's crazy that it happened, because we didn't know anything about Everett's injury at the time,' he said. 'I'm always amazed at these guys - these safeties, linebackers, running backs, the physical contact they go through every game. Some of the collisions they go through. It's unbelievable.

'My exact words to Luke McCown were, 'If I had to go through that I'd have broken my neck 30 times already.''

Simms shook his head as if to say, 'What are you gonna do?'

'In high school, one time I got hit late by someone when I was on the ground. The whole backside of my head was numb for six months. Literally my friends would get a kick by pulling my hair because I couldn't feel it,' he said. 'It still amazes me.

'You see something like this injury - man, it's scary. I think that's every football player's nightmare, that injury right there.'

Part Of The Deal

Players have always gotten hurt, often seriously. It's part of the accepted risk one takes when he puts on the pads.

But the explosion that happens when an NFL play begins is a ballet of speed and violence. Large men crashing into each other at car-wreck speeds. Play after play. It's a wonder, truly, that injuries like this don't happen every week.

'If you want to look at a reason behind it, you talk about the evolution of man - the evolution of the athlete itself,' Carter said. 'We have a game that by its nature is already violent. Go watch a pee-wee game and see how violent it is and then go watch a high school game and see how much more violent it is.'

Then someone like Kevin Everett comes along and gives that violence a face.

His mother told the Associated Press that he felt her touch his arm.

'He's going to be fine. I really believe it,' she said.

Meanwhile, the games go on and the collisions continue.

'Nobody is invincible,' Simms said. 'That's for sure.'

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