New Brunswick, NJ — On Thursday, October 27th, about 100 people gathered in Rutgers University to pray and support football player Eric LeGrand.
LeGrand suffered an injury during the team’s game against Army on Oct. 16 at the New Meadolands Stadium. He was paralyzed from the neck down making a tackle on a kickoff return. The entire Rutgers Football team was there. One of the players, Jorge Vicioso told theGrio what it was like to play in the team. He said that playing after what happened to Eric LeGrand does scare him.
“It does, but it’s football and we all know what you signed up for.” Vicioso said, “We just have to put it in the back of our heads and still play.”
He said that the team is dealing well with the situation and that they visit LeGrand at the Hackensack University Medical Center during the day. Another supporter who was there was Rutgers Women’s basketball player Chelsey Lee.
Chelsey Lee says that she understands the risk of playing sports, but that people take risks in everything that they do.
“You can be walking down the street and I could trip you,” Chelsey said, “But I’m just trying to keep faith and go out there and play hard and just keep praying for him.”
She said that she wants him to know that his fellow Scarlet Knights are there to support him. Some of the people who attended the rally were his parents, family, and friends. Family members of Adam Taliaferro, a player who got severely injured during the time when he was playing for Penn State.
“I tell you that if you do not have faith, you will develop a really strong faith after you go through a situation like this.,” said Taliaferro’s uncle. Eric LeGrand’s aunt was also at the rally to show her appreciation for everyone’s support. She spoke of her nephew and his uplifting spirit in spite of his situation.
“Although Eric’s body sustained a serious injury, his mind and his soul are fully intact,” she said. “He is the same Eric, he has a bright personality that lights up the room.”
Weeks ago, there was much uproar among parents about sports safety. the fear that many parents go through during this situation. Many shown light on the enforcement of rules in NCAA. Speculation grew that rules should be changed.
The NCAA addressed the dangers of players hitting with their helmets back in 2005, when it changed the rules against spearing to remove any reference to intent. “The old rule penalized players who intentionally led with their helmets. The rule change made all helmet hits penalties,” AP reports, “And just like the NFL, conferences are doling out suspensions for dangerous hits to the head.”
Eric LeGrand’s story was an unfortunately reminder of this since the change was made to protect the player doing the hitting as much as the player being hit.