On December 4, 2017, Pittsburg Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier experienced one of those collisions that passes for routine in the world of professional football, but what would leave you or I feeling like we’d just woken up the day after flipping a vehicle on the highway.
Shazier didn’t get up, though. He laid crumpled on the turf, reaching at his lower back and looking back at his legs. They refused to move.
Nearly five months later in Arlington, Texas, Shazier walked across the stage at the NFL Draft. Step by halting step, he moved across the stage, using every ounce of the willpower that once fueled a budding NFL career to walk 10 yards.
Shazier making the Steelers 1st-round pick ✊🏻pic.twitter.com/EK9KCDvx6W
— NFL Stats (@NFL_Stats) April 27, 2018
Every step was punctuated by thunderous applause from thousands of fans from every team, because everyone can get behind a man with a catastrophic spinal injury walking again. It was an awe-inspiring demonstration of the resilience of the human spirit.
It was also a reminder of the brutality sold to millions, for billions, as a game. It was a reminder of the neurons obliterated for the sake of entertainment, the crowd cheering to reward Shazier’s perseverance standing in stark contrast to how they demanded his and other’s sacrifice.
Shazier barely acknowledged the noise as he walked hand in hand with his fiancé, Michelle Rodriguez. His brow was furrowed as he concentrated not just on walking, but also probably not letting his face betray the pain he was experiencing. As he neared the podium, he looked up and tried to muster a smile for the crowd and the cameras.
He announced the Pittsburgh Steelers selection, Terrell Edmunds, a safety from Virginia Tech and another gladiator to take his place in the ranks. After exchanging a dap and snapping a photo, Shazier turned and found Rodriguez’s hand. The cameras moved on, the talking heads started analyzing Edmunds as a draft pick, then minutes later the next big story from a night full of them. Meanwhile Shazier and Rodriguez began the journey back across the stage, back to rehab and back to whatever the future holds for a man chewed up and spit out by the game of football.
Step by halting step.
What a great insight.
I imagine the player who did not mean for this encounter to end Shazier’s career was, and will remain for the rest of his life heartsick about it. Grace and peace to them both. But unlike the gladiators of days gone by, these men CHOSE to take the risk for the incredible payoff. In this life there are no guarantees, and for me, football is the only sport I enjoy, not because of the risks taken, or possibility of seeing a wreck, or someone getting hurt, but because it fosters community, teamwork, and relationships.
Thank you for reminding me to pray for those people who have lives which are much more difficult than mine, and to pray for the willing players of each game this coming season.