12/21/24
March 31, 2013
Louisville's Kevin Ware Suffers Broken Leg: Louisville sophomore Kevin Ware suffered a horrendous broken leg injury in the first half of a regional college basketball tournament final on Sunday, his bone protruding visibly from his skin as his teammates recoiled in horror at the sight. Duke's Tyler Thornton shot a 3-pointer from the wing and Ware ran out to defend and landed awkwardly on his right leg.
The online broadcast of the game includes the injury and aftermath, which occur as Louisville's 21-17 lead is cut to 21-20. (Warning: Injury is extremely gruesome.)
posted by grum@work to basketball at 08:23 PM - 12 comments
Here is a .gif of just the bench reaction:
posted by grum@work at 07:48 PM on March 31, 2013
Now link to a highlight reel of Louisville in the second half and include the same warning.
posted by phaedon at 07:50 PM on March 31, 2013
The NCAA.Com rebroadcast shows how it all unfolded. That was unbelievable. It reminded me of Ruben Mateo's leg break in 2000 as he extended to first. He was one of the top Rangers prospects at the time and his career was never the same.
posted by rcade at 08:29 PM on March 31, 2013
Before leaving the court on the stretcher, his teammates gathered around him and he said "I'll be okay, you guy go win this thing."
posted by grum@work at 12:45 AM on April 01, 2013
Even with some medic training in the Army, I nearly surrendered my last meal watching that video.
I wish Kevin Ware the best and hope he gets well soon.
posted by NerfballPro at 06:01 AM on April 01, 2013
Reading the description of Mr. Ware's injury makes me cringe. I don't think there is anything that would make me watch the video. Can anyone explain how this injury was possible? Just a bad landing or a combined twist and landing? It reads like a freak accident.
Best thought to this unfortunate young man and sincere hope that he beats the odds and recovers 100%.
posted by Joey Michaels at 01:26 PM on April 01, 2013
Can anyone explain how this injury was possible?
Ware runs to cover a three-point shooter near the scorer's table, leaping high and 10 feet laterally in a failed attempt to block the shot. He spins so much in the air that he lands with his back to the shooter. With his momentum carrying him hard towards the sideline, his right foot sticks at an awkward angle and the lateral force of the jump breaks his leg.
This happens right in front of the Louisville bench. The players look over and recoil like people in a haunted house.
posted by rcade at 02:32 PM on April 01, 2013
So it was a bad landing combined with forward momentum. Holy cats. I am stunned that a human can leap with more force than his bones can handle. I suspect this is something that somebody who wasn't in peak athletic shape would have to ever worry about. Amazing. Thank you for the analysis!
posted by Joey Michaels at 03:50 PM on April 01, 2013
Looking at the video, it appears Ware landed with his momentum carrying him in a direction perpendicular to the orientation of his right foot. In other words, the stress on his leg was side-to-side, not fore and aft. He leaped high enough that there would have been a lot of compression stress on the leg at the same time. With the leg bone and knee tendons under compression and a lateral force applied, there would be no room for any movement. The result is fracture and displacement of the bone. I am neither a doctor nor a trainer, but one does study materials and their properties in engineering school. This is classic stress and shear.
posted by Howard_T at 06:26 PM on April 01, 2013
Louisville player Kevin Ware suffers a severe compound fracture of his leg during the Elite Eight game today.
*WARNING - EXTREMELY GRAPHIC CONTENT*
Video of incident.
*WARNING - EXTREMELY GRAPHIC CONTENT*
The Louisville players were overwhelmed with emotion for their teammate, and some of those on the bench may have vomited.