The sometimes cruel nature of the sport of football hit close to home for the Ohio State football team on Monday night, when former Buckeye and current Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier suffered an injury that required him to undergo spinal stabilization surgery, leaving in question not only whether Shazier will be able to play football again, but whether the injury will cause permanent damage that affects his everyday life.
During the current Ohio State football team’s first media availability since Shazier’s injury, multiple Buckeyes who met with the media acknowledged that the injury was scary to see, and that they were thinking of Shazier and hoping for the best.
All of them also said, however, that the injury did not make them question whether they should continue playing football.
Ohio State defensive end Sam Hubbard said it left him speechless to see Shazier’s injury on Monday night.
"That’s someone that we know and someone that we’re praying for, and it’s just a terrible feeling to see someone go down like that," Hubbard said. "It’s scary. You don’t really know what to make of it. It’s something you never want to see happen, and you look at how you play and you want to be safe in making tackles, because you never want that to happen to you."
Ohio State left tackle Jamarco Jones said that when he saw Shazier’s injury, he "just started praying for him."
"Injuries are a part of the game, but it’s the part that sucks the most. But hopefully, I saw he had surgery … so hopefully, he’s coming along well and the doctors think he’s going to do well, but yeah, that was tough for me to watch," Jones said. "I’m definitely praying for him and his family and hope he’s getting well."
Ohio State defensive end Tyquan Lewis, who was teammates with Shazier during his redshirt season and Shazier’s final season in 2013, struggled to come up with the words to describe how he felt about seeing what happened.
"You just think about, you just saw one of your brothers go down, someone who you want to like build a relationship with and just instantly just think like, I don’t know, it was crazy," Lewis said. "I definitely felt bad at the moment for sure, and just kind of messed up."
Ohio State wide receiver Terry McLaurin, who met Shazier this past summer while interning at Nike, said that while it’s always tough to see a player suffer a serious injury in a football game, having gotten to know Shazier made it all the more difficult.
"He’s such a good guy, and to see anybody go down, and it’s somebody you know, it’s even harder," McLaurin said. "But my main concern is that he can come to a full recovery, and I’m praying for him and his family, and it’s hard to see somebody go down like that in that kind of way."
“it’s just a terrible feeling to see someone go down like that. It’s scary. You don’t really know what to make of it.”– Sam Hubbard
Shazier’s injury wasn’t the first debilitating injury to happen on the football field, and it won’t be the last. Although measures have been taken, especially at the sport’s highest level, in efforts to make the game safer, potentially life-altering injuries are still a part of the game. In Shazier’s case, his injury occurred on what was supposed to be a routine tackle, but unfortunately left him on the ground and unable to stand up due to the angle at which his head and neck made contact with Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Josh Malone.
The Buckeyes who met with the media on Friday don’t deny that that’s frightening to think about. They also said, though, that while they understand the risks of playing football, they also recognize that’s a part of the sport they signed up for.
"That’s the game of football that we play," said Ohio State wide receiver Parris Campbell. "You never know what’s going to happen. Injuries are going to happen at some time. But that’s just something you got to pray about. Scary thing, scary to watch, but you can’t prevent something like that from happening.
"This is the game I love, the game I love to play, and honestly, like when you’re on the field, that’s something that stuff like that never crosses your mind while you’re playing," Campbell added. "You just got to focus on other things."
Jones said he believes players’ parents and family members worry about the risk of injuries than the players do themselves, because the players themselves have had to accept the risks.
"It’s a part of the game. I wouldn’t really say it scares you too much, because like, I’ve been playing football all my life. I’ve seen some pretty bad injuries in football," Jones said. "I think football players, we understand the risks we’re taking but I think it’s moreso, it’s other people outside of the locker room and they may not necessarily understand why we do this. But I don’t think too many football players would say like watching the injury would deter them from playing, really, because we know what we’re getting into."
Hubbard and center Billy Price said seeing an injury like Shazier’s does make them think about the technique with which they play, in hopes of doing everything they can to avoid putting themselves in compromising positions that could lead to serious injuries.
"Having a Ryan Shazier and that catastrophic injury that happened with him, it hits home and it’s real, and people don’t realize that, your eight-year-old or nine-year-old who’s playing football in little league, that could happen to him," Price said. "It’s extremely, extremely scary, but you got to have good technique, have the proper coaching, wear your mouthpiece and wear some of the proper equipment and just follow the technique. And that’s not to say Ryan didn’t, but you never know when your last play’s going to be."
Lewis, however, said he tries to keep the prospect of injuries out of his mind when he is on the field.
"I’ve never really considered any type of risk playing this game, because I think the moment you think about getting hurt or something like that, something bad happens," Lewis said. "If you’re playing to be careful, then it’s probably not the game for you."
