Standing Tall, written by Sam Carchidi, is a story of triumph and overcoming odds that are not in your favor. Kevin Everett was lined up for kick-off, Everett was a member of the Buffalo Bill organization in the National Football league (NFL). Everett was known as the wedge buster on the kick-off team. (Page 6) When he raced down field, Everett was untouched and slammed into the side of Denver's kick-off return man, Hixon, and fell face first into the dirt. (Page 6) Following the massive hit Everett applied to Hixon, Everett knew it was over, he was paralyzed. Attempting to move his body below his neck, he could not do it. Everett was placed in an ambulance that would take him to the hospital where he would have to endure a long (Page 22) Kevin ran a 4.5 second forty yard dash, he could bench press three-hundred and seventy-five pounds, he was what any coach could only dream of. (Page 2 and 23) All of this athletic ability was bottled up in his 6'4" frame and was soon ended Brodie Campbell Standing Tall September Ides with what was described as a "devastating" hit that Kevin sustained during an NFL preseason game, during the kick-off. Everett collided with Hixon from the Broncos. Kevin Everett was later diagnosed with a dislocation of the C3/C4 vertebrae. (Page 167) When Kevin collided with Hixon it caused his C3 vertebrae to slide over his C4 vertebrae and caused a "scissor isn't effect of the spinal cord." (Page 13) Kevin was carted off the field into an ambulance where they administered a drug called Hypothermia that was a factor of Kevin being able to walk again. The drug has limited the swelling around Kevin's spine and lowered his temperature to allow cells to live longer when they don't receive adamant oxygen. (Page 176) The ride to the hospital (Page 74) This shows that through times of struggle that not only can family and God help you, but everyone else can come together and Brodie Campbell Standing Tall September Ides become an amazing support system for Kevin. Kevin will always be a story of when things look down or the odds are going against you just think about Kevin Everett's story, his road to triumph and victory, overcoming his odds. Things will eventually look up for the better. I would recommend this book to anybody, it appeals any audience. It's a wonderful story that overpowers you with emotion for family, God, and faith. Standing tall is something that Kevin did when he recovered, he didn't let the injury slow him down, even though going through something as devastating as he did. He didn't back down or crawl into a hole, but instead asked, what needs to be done first? What do I need to do to get better? Anybody that is a follower of God should read this to see how magical his powers are, how family and faith can bind together to heal such a horrific injury. Kevin has been and will always be a role model. He is a role model to me, an example of what a man looks like, acts like, and how to overcome the odds,
Mr. Webster would even ask to be tased because he could not fall asleep. Eventually, Mr. Webster became homeless and medications did not help him function. In the year 2000, Mike Webster issued a lawsuit to the NFL stating that football caused his head trauma, dementia, brain damage, and cognitive issues. During this lawsuit, the NFL denied all allegations and in 2002, Mike Webster died.
went out for wide receiver and landed on the football after a catch and lost his breath. He
CTE stands for chronic traumatic encephalopathy. CTE is a progressive neuro- degenerative disease which had not been found in football players until recently. It was stated in the episode, “Repetitive brain trauma starts this cascade of events in the brain that changes the way tau [protein] looks and behaves. It goes awry, it starts destroying the integrity of the brain cells.” Doctor Omalu’s discovery was the first hard evidence which proved playing football could cause permanent damage. This finding was not well received by the NFL and Omalu was met with attacks by the MTBI committee and the NFL as a whole.
Thiel, Art. “NFL’s Plight on Brain Injuries Not Over.” Al Jazeera America. N.p., n.d. Web. 10
Consequently, football accounts for more major and catastrophic injuries than any other sport. One story that grasped my attention was an ESPN segment on Outside the Lines, where stories range from sports and controversy issues off the field. The topic was Football at a Crossroads, which emphasized that children should not play tackle football until the age of 16. According to a USA Today article, “on November 6, 2011, Donnovan Hill was thirteen at the time of his injury as a member of the Lakewood (California) Black Lancers, a Pop Warner group” (Mihoces, 2013). When Donnovan Hill tackled his opponent, he dropped his head down, kept his arm at his side and initiated the tackle head first. This maneuver was executed improperly, which led to a catastrophic spinal cord injury. Unfortunately, due to his spinal cord injury, Donnovan Hill became a quadriplegic. According to a website article, “sadly, on May 11, 2016, Donnovan Hill, died at the age of 18 after complications from surgery related to the management of his injury” (Farrey,
...omach. At first, the doctors thought that McKinley would recover from his wound. After a couple of days, he was able to sit up and take food and liquid for the first time. But a couple of days later, McKinley went
occasion and beat the odds and become a better man, or he can follow in the footsteps
A. Subpoint: Many people do not like to focus on the violent nature of the game. Big hits and tackles are frequently praised and seen on top plays. But there are too many cases where these big hits result in serious concussions.
...Down and Inches: Concussions and Footballs Make or Break Moment. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Publishing Group, 2013. Print.
The NFL is known for its gruesome de-cleating hits on players, but the rising number of concussions has stripped players from being able to make these types of plays anymore! After the 2011 lawsuit, the NFL realized that new player safety rules had to be enforced into the NFL rule book. Rules such as no crown on crown to the helmet outside the tackle box have taken away the element of “big hits” in a football game. 1Redskin’s safety Brandon Meriwether was fined $42,000 for a helmet to helmet hit on Packer’s running back Eddie Lacey. Thank God for technology, because back in the 40’s they played football with leather a helmet. Also the NFL stated a new rule that each NFL team has to have a neurologist placed on the sideline for every official game. Jet’s player Jeremy Kerley suffered from a mind boggling week one injury. Kerley passed the mandatory concussion evaluation and soon after returns to the team. Suddenly, the following same day Jeremy was diagnosed with a concussion. I agree with the saying taking one the team, but playing with a concussion is like playing with fire. Some big hitters in the NFL are viewed as dirty players because of their bone crushing tackles. A lot of coaches like to blame big hits for the fact of...
a mentor to him, helped him and motivated him to get into a college prep program, that changed
One of the earliest players to bring awareness to brain traumas was Mike Webster, a former Pittsburgh Steeler. In April of 1999, he claimed to be disabled with the NFL Retirement Board. He also had dementia which was a result of the brutal hits he endured during his football career. Webster ran into many problems at the e...
Riley, our starting quarterback, placed his hands on the helmet of the right tackle, as he did every play. He called the play looking straight into my eyes signaling the pass was coming to me. My entire body tingled with excitement as I ran to the left of the field. I could feel my cleats dig into the soft, freshly cut field as I took my stance. I looked up into the sky seeing only white lights which created the stage for the football field. As I brought my head down slowly to see the white eyes of the defender across from me, my heart beat slowed and I was still, in peace for the short moment. The quarterback hiked the ball and I began in pursuit; shifting, juking to get away from my defender. We were side-by-side running down the field as the ball was thrown into the air, coming strait to me. I jumped up and became airborne, snagging it from the lit up, night sky. Falling back with the ball secured into my arms, I felt my defenders full weight push into my left leg. A snap rang out as we hit the ground together and I looked down to see a large bump sticking straight left out of my
ngers all over his strained body to make him feel that it was safe. After
American football or rugby is a sport where injuries are considered to be common. It is not written in your article but I am assuming that in rugby, if a player does not have a minor injury then it is considered that he hasn’t given his best in the game. But the injuries sometimes get too major such as that of Tony Dorsett. He got struck on his neck by a helmet which barreled into him like a Ferrari at 220kmph. Players like Tony Dorsett are injured almost everyday in rugby. These injuries are sometimes long lasting and a perfect example can be of Mr. Dorsett’s CTE. “CTE is caused by the regular thwack-thwack of the player’s head on his helmet.” It obviously must have hurt him a lot and also maybe destroyed his promising and bright career in this game.