n this photo provided by the University of Tulsa, Tulane's Devon Walker (18) and Julius Warmsley (92) tackle Tulsa's Kenny Welcome during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Tulsa, Okla., Saturday, Sept. 8, 2012. Walker suffered a fractured spine in the head-to-head collision. (AP)
A Tulane safety fractured his spine and suffered a collapsed lung in a head-to-head collision with a teammate during a football game Saturday.
Devon Walker is in stable condition and expected to undergo surgery within the next day or so, Tulane University’s athletics program said in a statement late Saturday, according AOL Sporting News. He is currently in traction and being treated for a “lot of swelling in his neck.”
“The current plan is for him to have surgery in the next one to two days. He is being treated by specialists,” the statement said.
The injury happened at the end of the first half of the game against the University of Tulsa in Tulsa, Okla. Walker collided with teammate Julius Warmsley during a tackle attempt, apparently smashing their helmets together. Walker immediately went still on top of a pile of players.
Team doctor Buddy Savoie said during a news conference after the game that Walker never completely lost consciousness and was breathing on his own. Previous reports said Walker stopped breathing as emergency medical personnel cut off his jersey and pads and was given CPR and fluids before he started breathing again.
“He was stable when we transported him,” Savoie said. “I do not think, based on the information we have, his life was ever in danger.”
According to the New Orleans Times-Picayune, Walker is a cell and molecular biology major who hopes one day to become a pharmacist.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Comments (64)
indygirl99
Sep. 9, 2012 at 5:52pmSadly it sounds as if there is a good chance that the fracture will result in paralysis. I hope I’m wrong; this young man appears to have so much going for him, both on the field and academically.
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hi
Sep. 9, 2012 at 4:58pmI met an ex- pro player once who said he’d give up all of his glory days for one day free from pain now.
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ncgrammie4
Sep. 9, 2012 at 4:46pmMy late father played football in the late 30′s and early 40′s. He played center and suffered many broken noses because of no face guards on the old helmets. He had broken legs and arms on multiple occasions, even played with a cast on because he could use it if necessary against the opposing team. He had a scholarship to Tulane way back then, and I never heard anything about a question of giving up playing. Maybe the men were just tougher back then, the equipmment certainly didn’t do much to protect them.
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Jimbo65
Sep. 10, 2012 at 3:06amMore and better protective equipment makes the player bolder, harder hitting and willing to use the gear as weapons. In short, the player try things and make hits they would die trying if they were rugby players or played at the time and with the equipment your father used.
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rangerskippy
Sep. 10, 2012 at 7:59amI would also argue that modern diets, modern science in the gymn has created a player that is much bigger, faster for their size, and the equipment allows them to hit harder.
Look at the size of lineman back in the 70s, and see how fast they ran the 40 compared to lineman of today.
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bankerpapaw
Sep. 9, 2012 at 3:43pmI did not have a son. But if I had had a son, it would have absolutely thrilled me to death if he did not
wanted to play football. Many young men have been ruined for life because of this game.
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Phil Bickel
Sep. 9, 2012 at 4:19pmMany more have been ruined by not being exposed to the values and leadership instilled by great coaches throughout this country.
Motorcycle and car accidents, drug abuse, and just bad friends ruined far more lives than football. Life is to be lived in real space, not on a video game console.
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eramthgin
Sep. 9, 2012 at 1:58pmMayor Nanny Bloomberg needs to abolish football to protect the children.
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sillyfreshness
Sep. 9, 2012 at 3:29pmIt certainly didn’t look like a serious hit. That’s the problem with football. Players (especially black players) feel a sense of security with all their pads and helmets, so they try to play crazy. Players will try to use their head as a weapon or hit someone from behind when they aren’t expecting it. Look at rugby and their lack of injuries because they know they can get hurt. They play hard, but use their heads not to get hurt instead of using their heads as weapons like American football.
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ronin_6
Sep. 9, 2012 at 1:37pmPray for his recovery and also pray that college and pro officials wake up. There have been soft shell helmet designs our for years that cut down on 80% of the trauma inflicted in a head to head collision like this one.
I can only assume they won’t implement their use because,admittedly they don’t look cool and you don’t get the crush noise of helmet on helmet. However if they are serious about keeping their players safe they will start using a better design.
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TRILO
Sep. 9, 2012 at 1:22pmI will pray for his recovery.
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jackandjill199
Sep. 9, 2012 at 1:12pmMany prayers for your safety Devon, I pray God’s mercies be poured out on you!
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Halloween
Sep. 9, 2012 at 1:04pm@ RJJINGADSDEN
Since when are you the king and commander of The Blaze. Is it your job to banish people from commenting on “your” column. Your Liberal Club Card is ready for pick up.
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RJJinGadsden
Sep. 9, 2012 at 1:14pmI am anything if not liberal, and have you not read TURDMONGER’s past posts. He is a race baiting fool in my opinion. Furthermore my suggestion that he take a hike is nothing more than just that, a suggestion. If you don’t like me for taking a stand, then so be it.
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Halloween
Sep. 9, 2012 at 2:01pm@ RJJING…
I see. You have been assigned to go after and punish TROLLMONGER for his past posts, I did not realize that. Sorry!
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jabazz
Sep. 9, 2012 at 12:34pm@WOOL…
The most intelligent comment so far. I agree wholeheartedly.
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Alvin691
Sep. 9, 2012 at 11:47amThe player was already going down, it was stupid on both their parts to hit and lead with their heads to try to cause a fumble.
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independentvoteril
Sep. 9, 2012 at 10:14amNot really a die-hard football fan but I do pray for a full recovery for this young man..
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TROLLMONGER
Sep. 9, 2012 at 9:55amThis story doesnt matter to the e. They dont care about black people.
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grayling646
Sep. 9, 2012 at 11:48amDAMMIT!!! You’d think people would respond to that. I’ll try to send some folks over here. Maybe someone will bite.
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RJJinGadsden
Sep. 9, 2012 at 12:20pmTURDMONGER, Certainly haven’t missed your recent absence here lately. Feel free to crawl back into the sh/thole that you recently climbed from again, and leave this site to the adults. This entire incident has been a horrible tragedy and here you come along and try your lame race baiting. My entire family is praying for his recovery, and everything that his family and friends have to be going through right now.
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MadeMyDay
Sep. 9, 2012 at 12:28pmYou are a moron! When will the black people start loving themselves and their history and color and stop hating!!!!!
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Halloween
Sep. 9, 2012 at 1:12pm@ RJJINGADSDEN
Since when are you the king and commander of The Blaze. Is it your job to banish people from commenting on “your” column. All your piety and religious ego has gotten you nowhere. Your Liberal Club Card is ready for pick up.
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Midwest Blonde
Sep. 9, 2012 at 9:51amIt’s interesting that when their “safety” equipment wasn’t as good (as in many years ago) there were actually LESS injuries because players KNEW they weren’t super protected – they were MORE careful as they knew they could suffer great injuries. Now, they depend on equipment to protect them, not common sense,
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Eastinfection
Sep. 9, 2012 at 10:01amAlso relevant is the fact that the average linebacker in the 1950′s weighed 234 lbs compared to 310 lbs in 2012. They are also faster and carry far less body-fat… and train year round.
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watersRpeople
Sep. 9, 2012 at 10:08amEastinfection,
They’re machines, and not very bright ones at that…Hey machine, go ram your body into that other machine…….”Oh alright.”
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OneTermPresident
Sep. 9, 2012 at 10:42am@EASTINFECTION… WHAT? Linebackers are over 300lbs? Get your facts straight please. Linemen are over 300lbs… not linebackers. They average about 240lbs.
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Eastinfection
Sep. 9, 2012 at 11:32am@ ONETERM: you’re right. i got the stat from a sloppily worded article i found here: http://ehstoday.com/health/safety-2012-ergonomic-strategies-managing-obesity-workplace
my apologies. I weigh 150 lbs and have never played football so i have no base- line of relevance on which to recognize errors like that. They all seem like giants to me.
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Eastinfection
Sep. 9, 2012 at 11:36amPS.. @WATER …some of them are very bright.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/949563-the-nfls-10-smartest-players/page/9
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j_blaze14
Sep. 9, 2012 at 9:34amleather helmets won’t fix it overnight, it will take a while. all the kids in jr football, highschool and college have grown up with helmets. at the moment of impact they will not think of their bodies. injuries would increase temporarilly but over a few years definitly decline. it would be worse in the nfl. tryouts would decrease, the running game would virtually dissapear and we would be watching flag football by 2020. we need to accept the fact that the world is not a perfect place, high risk equals high reward. you can’t have a 100% safe football game and have it be as good as it is now. there are helmets available now that decrease concussions, they had them years ago. players don’t like them cause of the reduced helmet to helmet sounds. there are neck braces that can be worn behind the head that almost would eliminate neck injuries. we need more technology, not less. the problem is the technology isn’tt keeping up with the growth and speed of athletes.
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kindling
Sep. 9, 2012 at 9:20pmOr just stop watching these men run around grabbing each others butts and rip each others heads off. I find the game totally uninteresting. I could just go out and watch the bucks in rut. Probably smell the same come to think of it.
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Amadeus52
Sep. 9, 2012 at 9:34amFootball: A game played by neanderthals for neanderthals.
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john koenig
Sep. 9, 2012 at 12:18pm@Amadeus…You mean “Neanderthals” like Gerald Ford, Jack Kemp, JC Watts and Steve Largent?
You must be a soccer weenie.
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skippy6
Sep. 9, 2012 at 9:13amMyth : Children Gun Deaths Are At Epidemic Proportions
1. Fact: Twice as many children are killed playing football in school than are murdered by guns. That’s right. Despite what media coverage might seem to indicate, there are more deaths related to high school football than guns. In a recent three year period, twice as many football players died from hits to the head, heat stroke, etc. (45), as compared with students who were murdered by firearms (22) during that same time period.1
2. Fact: More children will die in a car, drown in a pool, or choke on food than they will by firearms. As seen by the chart on the previous page, children are at a 2,000 percent greater risk from the car in their driveway, than they are by the gun in their parents’ closet. Children are almost 7 times more likely to drown than to be shot, and they are 130 percent more likely to die from choking on their dinner.2
3. Fact: Accidental gun deaths among children have declined by over 50 % in 25 years, even though the population (and the gun stock) has continued to increase.3
4. Fact: Despite the low number of gun accidents among children, most of these fatalities are not truly “accidents.” According to Dr. Gary Kleck, many such accidents are misnamed — those “accidents” actually resulting from either suicides or extreme cases of child abuse.4 Dr. Kleck also notes that, “Accidental shooters were significantly more likely to have been arrested, arrested for a viole
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Wool-Free Vision
Sep. 9, 2012 at 9:20amI’m pretty sure that neither of the young men involved in this accident were armed. Please save your copy/paste for a thread about guns. Thanks in advance.
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independentvoteril
Sep. 9, 2012 at 10:13am22 kids killed in a year ?? guess you don’t read any papers since CHICAGO can have that many killed in a weekend..
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TWO BITS
Sep. 9, 2012 at 9:02amMany sports can result in injury from collisions. I will pray for healing and a positive outcome for Devon, his family, and teammates.
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Mr.Fitnah
Sep. 9, 2012 at 8:53amIf they go back to leather helmets these problems will solve themselves over night , if not sooner.
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Eastinfection
Sep. 9, 2012 at 8:30amPeople get seriously injured in every contact sport…. Rush is right, though.. Be prepared for the “war on football” to gain momentum in the coming years.
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Kopfjager
Sep. 9, 2012 at 8:18amI would argue that football is not as dangerous as some would say. Look at the number of players in high school, college and the pros. Add up the number of plays per game for each team and the number of hits and then look at the injuries. It really isn’t that much.
I am very sorry for Devon and am already praying for his full recovery, but I think his injury is more the result of the angle of the hit then the hit itself. I know he is in good hands with Dr. Felix Savoie.
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4xeverything
Sep. 9, 2012 at 9:06amYou’re right but, as a mother of two young boys I still won’t let them play football. I understand that the likelyhood of them being seriously hurt is very little but, I can’t get beyond the thought of a broken neck or the series of concussions that never get diagnosed. Don’t get me wrong though…I love football! Sundays in my house go as follows: church, food, and football. No time for anything else. I know…the hypocracy…so be it.
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john koenig
Sep. 9, 2012 at 12:20pm@4XEveeything…Do your boys ride in a car? Ever?
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v15
Sep. 9, 2012 at 8:14amWhat’s wrong with “competitiveness, determination, size, ‘honed’ equipment?” Take that away and you don’t have a game!
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v15
Sep. 9, 2012 at 8:10amMan, that sucks! He’ll probably have to get his neck vertebrae fused together so he will have to turn his whole body when he turns his head. Sort of reminds me of Rocky IV when Apollo Creed gets killed. I know, totally random.
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piper60
Sep. 9, 2012 at 9:00amActually, the whole body turning thing reminds me of a country music star from the 50′s.Little Jimy Dickens. Last time I saw him on TV, he was doing the same thing.
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burnteye86
Sep. 9, 2012 at 8:08amI wonder how many people were seriously injured by a drunk driver in America on the same day this young man was hurt. Football is dangerous but we need to get our priorities straight.
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soybomb315_II
Sep. 9, 2012 at 8:14amdrunk driving is illegal
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burnteye86
Sep. 9, 2012 at 8:27amSOYBOMB, I did a little investigating and apparently you are correct. Drunk driving IS illegal.
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Eastinfection
Sep. 9, 2012 at 8:34am“In Jersey anything’s legal as long as you don’t get caught.”
-The Traveling Wilburys
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watersRpeople
Sep. 9, 2012 at 10:04amWe don’t need priorities – we’re Americans. Just don’t expect me to pay for this dummy for the rest of his life all because he likes to ram his body into other people who like to ram their bodies into people.
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hillbillyinny
Sep. 9, 2012 at 8:06amSorry guys, but, sadly, football has become a very dangerous sport. Why? Competitiveness, determination, size, “honed” equipment.
Rush L will not like this, I’m definitely a conservative, but I’m tired of hearing about injury after injury, including this student and Elvis Fisher’s knee during MSU game yesterday.
I prayer for wisdom for these brave gentleman!
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AJAYW
Sep. 9, 2012 at 8:24amYes it has, I don’t enjoy it anymore. I went to all of my grandsons junior high games until it got to the point that I just couldn’t be a part of these little guys were carted off to the hospital at every game. These kids are taught to take out players. Accidents are one thing …………..
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Eastinfection
Sep. 9, 2012 at 8:39amFootball has ALWAYS been a very dangerous sport. There’s just an amped up effort for “big brother” to do something about it now. The government knows best, etc. It’s becoming the “cause de jour”. Where’s the grass roots effort to shut down boxing and MMA?
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Wool-Free Vision
Sep. 9, 2012 at 9:09amCry me a river! These young men are VERY aware of the risk when playing a contact sport. No one goes into this blind. It is a shame when something this bad happens, but considering that there are millions of young men coming together and giving 110% every week for 5 months every year, I think you are overreacting to a relative few injuries.
Athletes get injured doing what they love all the time. Rock climbers fall, bike riders skid, boat racers capsize, and even soccer players occasionally have a real injury that they’re not faking.
What would you have us do, put guard rails and training wheels on everything? Should we child-proof the world so no one ever gets hurt, just because people like you are “tired of hearing about injury after injury?”
There has already been TOO MUCH meddling in the sport of football. Bleeding hearts are trying to ruin one of America’s greatest pastimes with all the new rules and regulations. They won’t be satisfied until football is as lame and tame as soccer. What an absolute YAWN!
Let ‘em play! Stop trying to suck the fun out of the world. Go play checkers and leave sports to the rest of us who aren’t afraid to risk injury in the pursuit of excellence and glory.
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Wool-Free Vision
Sep. 9, 2012 at 9:11amDon’t give ‘em any ideas, EastInfection. MMA is awesome, and I’m gonna blow a gasket if they get their meddling fingers into the octagon.
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TheRooster
Sep. 9, 2012 at 9:24amHow can you be a conservative and support the “Nanny State”?
“I believe the game is designed to reward the ones who hit the hardest. If you can’t take it, you shouldn’t play” Jack Lambert
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Eastinfection
Sep. 9, 2012 at 9:57am@WOOL.. Not a fan of MMA myself but i certainly don’t want the government meddling in any sport. The chatter about legislating the “fighting” out of hockey get’s my goat. It’s all gonna be on their list sooner or later. BigBro won’t be happy til every kid lives in a bubble.
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hillbillyinny
Sep. 9, 2012 at 1:39pm@ the rooster
I’m not sure who you were talking to about “nanny states” as I SAID NOTHING about the government getting involved.
I just registered my concern that football injuries, although maybe of the same number, or much more serious much of the time, and I believe that attitudes lean much more toward “kill” than “win”!
I don’t know that there is a simple solution, and I don’t want football banned, but I would like it to be more of a sport of skill and less about weight, size and head-butting.
Again, I pray for wisdom for the doctors helping this gentleman, and Elvis Fisher with his knee injury yesterday. May they both recover fully and quickly!
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TriforcePlayer
Sep. 9, 2012 at 11:49pmJump off a bridge please
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