Pardon me for another NFL story, but what I thought would just be a fun afternoon today (Tuesday, Aug. 25) turned into something very different.
I was up in the bleachers at Dallas Cowboys training camp in Oxnard, California, watching the team run plays (which is as close as we in L.A. get to pro football these days). Quarterback Tony Romo threw a pass, there was a scramble for the ball, and the next thing I knew, cornerback Orlando Scandrick, Number 32, was in a fetal position on the ground, and he wasn’t getting up.
I heard the shouts of “Scandrick!” from the crowds around me, as other players and then trainers rushed to the 28-year-old’s aid. One player knelt nearby, inconsolable, as the trainers huddled over the downed man.
Only having time to skim through the Cowboy roster to confirm Scandrick’s identity on my phone (sorry, I’m a Seahawks fan, and it was only my second time at
Cowboy camp), I didn’t get the names of the other players.
But from a story from ESPN staff writer Todd Archer, I learned that the injury happened while Scandrick was trying to tackle pass receiver Larry Whitehead, a rookie, and that safety Barry Church immediately came to Scandrick’s aid.
(Reports, though, indicate the injury happened before Sandrick and Whitehead collided, but the rookie’s momentum took them both to the ground.)
Meanwhile, Scandrick was on the ground, hidden by coaches and trainers, but I could hear his screams even up where I was sitting. Finally, a cart came out and very gingerly — I’m always struck by how gentle and careful trainers are with injured players — many hands lifted Scandrick onto the cart.
As this happened, Cowboys star wide receiver Dez Bryant, No. 88, who was hovering nearby, crouched down and said, “F**k” before putting his hands over his mouth.
The trainers pulled Scandrick’s pads and jersey off and, still sobbing, the cornerback pulled the shirt undeneath over his face for a moment in despair.
Then he was driven off, and we saw his face for the first time, and it looked like he knew it was bad.
According to the ESPN story, secondary coach Jerome Henderson reported that Scandrick knew immediately that he’d torn the anterior-cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee. Later, an MRI confirmed it, and also showed that he tore the medial collateral ligament (MCL). So he’s looking at surgery, rehab and being out for the rest of the season.
You may say, “Well, that’s football!” Well, it’s not just football. Female soccer players have a terrifying level of ACL tears, as do skiers, tennis players — pretty much anyone whose activities cause them to twist, pivot and make quick changes of direction.
Years ago, I tore the ACL in my left knee getting out of my seat on a plane. Plant your foot wrong, pivot and pop. It happens.
Scandrick is still young, and it’s likely he’ll return –in fact, he sent a text saying, “I’ll be back, and I’ll be better than ever.” – but not this season. I watched a young man’s dreams collapse as his leg gave way. I feel his pain — I’ve FELT his pain — and I said a quick prayer for his recovery.
I also feel for the poor rookie, who’s probably horrified that his new teammate got hurt, and for the veteran players, who’ve all been there.
Ironically, this morning, I interviewed retired Baltimore Ravens linebacker Matt Birk, who’s given and received his share of hits. The Harvard grad could have taken a different path, but he accepted what football did to his body, because he loved what it did for his mind and spirit.
He told me it made him a better man, it brought him back to his Catholic faith, and it made him part of a brotherhood (more on that in the near future for The Tidings, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, which I’ll also link from here). For anyone who’s never played the game, Birk said it’s hard to understand that brotherhood, but I’ve seen it at Hall of Fame ceremonies (the only place with more kissing and crying is a Miss America pageant), and I saw it on the Cowboys practice field today.
Today was Military Appreciation Day at Cowboys camp, and the field was lined with active-duty and former military and their families. They understand that brotherhood better than anyone — and in a small way, the fraternity of football players reflects that.
Nothing is gained in this world without sacrifice, whether it’s of money, time or your own mind and body. No matter how careful and safe you are, life takes its toll, and nobody emerges unscathed.
The screams of Orlando Scandrick were a reminder that our bodies are fragile, and whether we’re on the football field or in the air on the way to Chicago, we never really know when something will give. All we can hope is that, when we do go down, there are helping hands — human and divine — to get us through it.
By the way, there happened to be a doctor on my flight, and a clinic at the airport. By the end of the day, leg encased in a brace, I was ensconced at my parents’ house, being well looked-after. Since Scandrick grew up in Southern California, I hope he’s surrounded by love and family right now.
Images: Kate O’Hare
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