An NFL commentator has been torn to shreds online for his take on a terrifying injury that left current and former players shaken.
LA Chargers tight end Donald Parham Jr. has left America in shock after he appeared to be knocked out while attempting to score a touchdown against the Kansas City Chiefs.
It was the end of the first drive on Thursday Night Football match when Parham appeared to catch a five-yard pass from QB Justin Herbert but it all went wrong in terrifying scenes.
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The ball squeezed loose and Parham appeared to lose consciousness as he was attended to by medical staff and had his arms stiff in front of him in what is called the “fencing position” and is a sign of concussion.
The camera inexplicably zoomed in to the star’s face and his eyes were shut as the commentators said: “And he’s hurt”.
The 24-year-old remained motionless on the ground for several minutes as his teammates looked on in distress.
Parham was eventually seen squeezing the hand of a trainer as he was treated on the ground before he was strapped into a stretcher and taken from the field.
The Chargers later revealed he had been taken to hospital after leaving the ground.
“Tight End Donald Parham Jr. is currently undergoing tests, imaging and evaluation for a head injury at UCLA Harbor Medical Center and is in stable condition,” a Twitter post read.
The reaction was swift as plenty of fans and former players sent prayers up for the injured star.
“Scary scene on that field right now,” former NFL QB Robert Griffin III wrote.
“Players put their livelihood on the line every time they step in between those lines. Prayers up for Donald Parham.”
Ex-Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson wrote: “Sucks that sometimes we have to see someone seriously hurt on the field to put things into perspective.
“Praying for Donald Parham”.
The Athletic’s Saad Yousuf also added: “It’s just been incredibly challenging to watch this football game with any semblance of focus after the Donald Parham injury.”
Former Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman tweeted: “Thoughts are with Donald Parham. Scary to watch.”
While the extent of the injury hasn’t been revealed, it didn’t take long for fans to turn their focus to the coverage of the incident.
The close up of Parham’s face had some fuming but a cross to sideline reporter Erin Andrews saw a slow motion video of Parham convulsing and comments from commentator Joe Buck sent some fans over the edge.
As Parham was wheeled out on the stretcher, he arms continued to shake despite being strapped into the stretcher.
It was something fans called “gut-wrenching” to watch.
But Buck was slammed after he said he believe Parham was shaking because he was cold.
“The last thing we would ever do is speculate about any injury, especially that type,” he began. “But when you see his arm shaking and his hand shaking on his way out, that’s the part that’s most unnerving. I’ll add this, it is very cold, at least by Los Angeles standards down on the field. Hopefully that is one of the issues than anything else.”
The temperature was lingering around 10 degrees celcius.
CEO of the Concussion Legacy Foundation Chris Nowinski responded to the comments tweeting: “Donald Parham Jr. is at the hospital with a brain/spine injury. Joe Buck says he’d never speculate on an injury, then speculates DP’s arm tremors were bc “it’s cold tonight, at least by Los Angeles standards.”
“Ladies and gents, meet rock bottom for sports broadcasting.”
ESPN’s NFL Nation reporter Brooke Bryor added: “What we didn’t need, FOX, was an up-close slow-mo of Parham being carted off the field. Disgusting decision to air that.”
The 52-year-old Buck is a broadcasting institution in the US, leading the coverage for both Fox’s NFL and MLB coverage and has won eight Emmy Awards for his broadcasting.
He has been a broadcaster for 30 years and has been working at Fox since 1994.