As Vernon Hargreaves went limping off the field with the help of trainers, I thought, here we go again.
But it turns out we needn’t worry so much about the extent of the injury as we should the cause of it.
Hargreaves sustained a bone bruise in his leg during a fight between the receivers and defensive backs units. It all started when freshman cornerback Duke Dawson and an unidentified wide receiver exchanged shoves. More teammates jumped into the pile to try to break it up, including Hargreaves, and a pileup ensued. When it was all sorted out, Hargreaves limped away with trainers. He was eventually able to put weight on the foot before getting carted off the field to the locker room.
But boy, what a dumb way to get hurt.
These are teammates. You’re supposed to root for each other, support each other. Especially after going 4-8- something like that is supposed to bring you together. And let me say this: had Hargreaves been seriously injured, nobody would ever forgive Dawson and the receiver. I know things get heated in practice. I coached special teams for my high school teams for three years in high school. Believe me, I know tempers flare from time to time. I saw it all the time. That still doesn’t make it a good thing, or this fight any more acceptable.
The potentially tragic story has a happy ending. Hargreaves is going to be OK. But Will Muschamp probably won’t sleep too well tonight.
