Photos courtesy of Ann Arbor News
The University of Michigan held pro-day workouts on Friday ahead of next month’s NFL Draft. However, Wolverines linebacker David Ojabo’s leg injury sparked a backlash from fans, critics, and former NFL players as the college athlete winced in pain without receiving immediate attention.
Ojabo, one of the top picks in the draft, was running drills in front of NFL coaches and scouts when he collapsed to the ground while holding his leg. Later, it was confirmed that he suffered a torn Achilles — a severe injury that often keeps athletes off the field for more than a year or longer, Fox Sports reported.
The incident was captured on video and went viral on social media, leaving many criticizing how those in attendance reacted to Ojabo’s injury. Former NFL cornerback/return specialist Bucky Brooks took to Twitter on Sunday and addressed the “lack of concern and empathy” regarding the 21-year-old NFL prospect.
“I know the NFL is a cold business, but watching the lack of concern or empathy from the scouts, coaches and observers following David Ojabo’s injury bugs me,” Brooks tweeted. “Perhaps someone should’ve checked on him instead of grabbing the ball and moving to the next drill. Just a thought.”
The moment Ojabo went down, there was no reaction from coaches, scouts, or observers as they watched him rolling on the ground in pain. Instead, someone strolled in his direction, picked up the football he had drooped, and walked away. The 21-second clip amassed over nine million views on Twitter, prompting other former NFL players to share their stories.
Philadelphia cornerback Darius Slay tweeted: “Should see practice!! I’ve seen somebody get hurt, and they just move the ball up 10yds and continue like nothing just happened. S**t is sad.”
Former Titans and Raiders linebacker Will Compton wrote, “A story about being a commodity. One time I got hurt during practice & @CoachVrabel50 didn’t even move the drill up. He just ran the next play while I was still on the ground & yelled, ‘we don’t have time for this – can someone who’s not a p***y get in there??’ Had a broken leg.”
ESPN’s Louis Reddick said, “Video of people walking past David Ojabo in immediate aftermath of his going down w/injury (which turned out to be a devastating one) is infuriating. No empathy? No assistance at all until medical professionals could help him? This is a relationship business, man. That isn’t it.”
Fox Sports draft analyzer and college football expert Joel Klatt wrote, “The David Ojabo injury is heartbreaking! He has massive potential and hopefully will still realize it in his future NFL career. It reminds me that GAMES are the things that actually matter rather than these glorified gym class workouts.
Though medical staff did tend to Ojabo’s injury, a scouting director told Yahoo! Sports that the young athlete could fall “20 spots or more” in the upcoming draft.