BringTheBlitz.com | The Dark Side of Football

The Dark Side of Football

By Dan Hope
BringTheBlitz.com
09/10/07 at 4:09PM

The National Football League. One of America's favorite pastimes. 60 minutes of intense, gut-wrenching gridiron, played in sun, rain, or snow, and all the touchdowns, fantastic plays, and of course, hard hits. Hard hitting is a huge part of what makes football the game it is- but unfortunately, the victim doesn't always get right back up. And it's not because they aren't tough enough- it's because they can't.

We all watched, helplessly, as Steve Everett was loaded onto a stretcher

Sunday, Septmeber 9, 2007. For 26 of the 32 teams in the NFL, it was opening day. There were many great games and overall, it was a fantastic opening Sunday on the NFL calendar. One of the best games of the day was the showdown between the Buffalo Bills and the Denver Broncos, a game which came down to a last-second field goal by Jason Elam in which he was forced to run onto the field just to make his kick due to the team's lack of a timeout. But that, by far, was not the biggest blow the Bills suffered that day.

Kevin Everett was on the kickoff team for the Bills to start off the second half. Bills kicker Rian Lindell kicked it deep to Domenik Hixon, who returned it to the 20-yard line. Then Domenix Hixon collided with Kevin Everett. Everett was clearly injured, as his head was hit by Hixon's helmet and he fell straight to the turf. And it became clearer as minutes passed by and Everett remained on the ground, unable to move. Everett had to be taken off the field in a stretcher, and the entire Bills' team met near the sideline in prayer, as they, like all of us NFL fans must, hope for the best.

A team of doctors performed emergency surgery on his spinal cord at Millard Fillmore Gates Hospital, but there is much concern.

On Monday, Dr. Anthony Cappucino gave a press conference in regards to the medical status of Kevin Everett. As much as we all want to focus on the positives, there unfortunately are few. It is positive to hear that Kevin Everett has been alert over this period and was able to speak to Dr. Cappucino and his mother, who was fortunately able to fly in in order to visit her son at this time of need. It is also good to hear that when asked if he could breathe without the use of a respirator, he was. However, they are continuing to use the respirator for further precaution in Everett's condition.

Unfortunately, the negatives outweigh the positives in this situation. Dr. Cappucino said that although he is an optimist in life, it is unlikely Kevin Everett will ever be able to walk again. But even more catastrophic is that the injury continues to be a life-threatening one, in a very frightening situation still in which any small mechanical setback, blood clot, or infection could mean the end of his life.

Kevin Everett is a third-year player who never had the chance to make an impact in the NFL, and almost certainly never will. Everett tore his ACL in his first-ever preseason game, and only played on special teams in his second season. Everett was expected to get his chance at playing the tight end position this year, but instead is now lying in a hospital, possibly paralyzed for the rest of his life. When a 25-year-old man who in just one second goes from playing the highest level of professional football to lying on the ground unable to move- that is the dark side of the game that the strong warriors known as professional football players play.

Fortunately injuries like this one are very rare, but it can happen to anybody at any time. It is really unfortunate that such a severe injury has to put such a damper on the opening weekend of the 2007-2008 NFL season. Hopefully the entire National Football League and all of its fans will all band together in this frightening time and hope and pray that this man will be able to walk again. It's amazing how horribly things can change in a fraction of a second, but it's a harsh bite of reality to every player in the National Football League that nobody is invincible.

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