Michigan Football: Ondre Pipkins’ Neck Injury Demonstrates Football’s Inherent Danger
UPDATE, 6:30 p.m. ET: Pipkins has been released from the hospital and is “up and walking around while watching afternoon practice, doing well,” according to the official Michigan football Twitter account. This appears to have been a prank.
This morning, freshman defensive lineman Ondre Pipkins suffered a neck injury during practice and was taken to a university hospital by ambulance. And the best news for Pipkins is that he’ll probably be fine.
Ann Arbor.com has more information:
This is especially concerning given that Pipkins is one of Michigan’s most promising and engaging players on the team. MGoBlog has a great write-up on Pipkins just days before the injury, and apart from being an incredible beast on the field (he’s 6’3′′, 340 lbs, and athletic as hell), he’s also tremendously charming.
Check out this video of him from the Army All-American Game, where he was already performing a fantastic Brady Hoke impression as a Michigan commit:
The fact that Pipkins’ hospitalization was for “precautionary measures” is significantly better than what may have happened. Spinal injuries are uncommon, but when they occur, the results are usually disastrous. And there’s no way of knowing when, where, or to whom they’ll happen.
That is the risk lurking behind every college football game, practice, and play. That’s not to say it’s a cause to dislike football or dissuade people from playing it—you’re not going to persuade anyone that Pipkins should be doing anything other than playing defensive tackle—but it’s something to consider.
While the thought of someone like Pipkins—who has so much potential—being crippled by something as terrible as a spinal-cord injury is heartbreaking, it’s encouraging to hear that he already has movement in his limbs, and it’ll be amazing to see him back on the field whenever that day comes.
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