Det News On Speight's Post-Injury Fiasco At Purdue
Angelique Chengelis was able to speak with Speight's parents on the experience, and what a nightmare it was. This is totally unacceptable from a Big Ten university (or any university, for that matter). LINK and some lowlights:
Michigan and Michigan State have full X-ray capabilities at their stadiums, and they also provide police escorts if a player needs to be transported to and from the hospital. It’s not clear why Speight wasn’t transported directly to a hospital by ambulance.
Instead, Wilton sat in the front seat of a van provided by Purdue and driven by a student. The Speights, two medical trainers, a doctor and Thai Trinh, an orthopedic sports medicine fellow at Michigan, piled into a van to be transported to the student health clinic, about two blocks from the stadium.
...
“They take us in the basement,” Bobby Speight said. “It’s very dimly lit. Halfway down the hall, there’s a (radiology) technician. Wilton is in (partial) uniform and still wearing cleats, and she asks Wilton his name. The (van driver) says he needs an X-ray. (The technician) looks at me and says, ‘I need your insurance card.’ ”
“And we waited 20 minutes for the rescue squad team,” he said. “At that point, Wilton says he has tingling in his legs and is in substantial pain. The EMT riding in the back of the ambulance asks us if we need an IV or vital monitoring and Trinh replied, ‘No, but we need him stable and immobile. This is a back injury.’ We stop at a light, and the Michigan doctor asks how long is it going to take, and (the EMT) said 30 to 45 minutes on game day.
“Our doctor asked him, ‘Couldn’t we please turn on the siren and make better time?’ And (the rescue squad member) said, ‘Don’t you get smart with me. You said this is a non-vital trip.’ Our doctor said, ‘I don’t care what I told you, this boy has tingling in his legs. Turn the siren on and go.’
October 26th, 2017 at 9:37 PM ^
Unbelievable. Shame on Purdue.
October 26th, 2017 at 10:43 PM ^
And even more unbelievable that, after this was what happened, they were so snarky in the media.
Everyone who called Harbaugh a whiner for saying something oughtta feel like the feces that they are after learning the truth of it.
They won't. But they ought to.
October 27th, 2017 at 6:53 PM ^
October 27th, 2017 at 10:51 AM ^
There will be more than "shame" pointed at Purdue if Wilton suffers anything more than a temporary injury. There will be a lawsuit the size of that stupid ass drum they bang if there is a permanent injury.
October 27th, 2017 at 2:48 PM ^
They could be in real trouble.
October 27th, 2017 at 12:37 PM ^
October 27th, 2017 at 12:35 PM ^
October 26th, 2017 at 9:37 PM ^
October 26th, 2017 at 9:41 PM ^
Exactly along the lines of what I was going to say. You'd think that this would be one of the more important things for the NCAA oversee but safety and medical treatment to the student atheletes who actually make them money is apparently too much to ask.
October 27th, 2017 at 12:18 AM ^
The NCAA doesn't punish a school for fake classes but does for 20 minutes of stretching.
October 27th, 2017 at 8:21 AM ^
October 27th, 2017 at 1:47 PM ^
Unless it requires money. Good job NCAA and Purdue.
October 26th, 2017 at 9:39 PM ^
October 26th, 2017 at 9:39 PM ^
October 26th, 2017 at 10:10 PM ^
October 26th, 2017 at 11:08 PM ^
October 27th, 2017 at 1:40 AM ^
October 27th, 2017 at 1:42 AM ^
October 26th, 2017 at 9:39 PM ^
Was this Indiana or a third world country? Also, 30 minutes to go two blocks? They have that much traffic during the game? Very poor performance by Purdue University.
October 26th, 2017 at 10:04 PM ^
October 26th, 2017 at 10:22 PM ^
That is pretty damn funny. +1
October 26th, 2017 at 10:47 PM ^
...is a Third World country.
My uncle is lucky he isn't dead because he had the misfortune of having a stroke during a Notre Dame football home game and the Indiana State Police would not hold up football traffic for his ambulance.
October 26th, 2017 at 9:40 PM ^
Good work by Angelique to expose these fucking idiots
Running a competent and sportsmanlike athletic operation seems to be beyond Purdue.
Delany should hit them with the hammer if they don't get their shit straight.
October 26th, 2017 at 9:48 PM ^
October 26th, 2017 at 10:55 PM ^
i woould wish Delaney hit his hammer on his own head lol.
October 27th, 2017 at 9:20 AM ^
Well they don't drive up marketshare like Rutgers does, so maybe...
October 26th, 2017 at 9:40 PM ^
October 26th, 2017 at 9:46 PM ^
And fuck Tim Brando, Scott Van Pelt, and any other talking head who tried comparing this to not releasing a roster for a competitive advantage.
October 27th, 2017 at 9:23 AM ^
I doubt those shit heads will say a peep. This should be their twitter avatar for the next month...
October 26th, 2017 at 9:40 PM ^
...and that, my friends, is why Purdue is a small time program in a big time pond.
October 26th, 2017 at 9:42 PM ^
That's some real third world crap.
October 26th, 2017 at 9:42 PM ^
October 27th, 2017 at 7:37 AM ^
October 27th, 2017 at 4:01 PM ^
wouldn't go to litigation. They would probably settle for significant $$$$.
October 26th, 2017 at 9:44 PM ^
October 26th, 2017 at 9:45 PM ^
October 26th, 2017 at 10:08 PM ^
October 26th, 2017 at 10:35 PM ^
Also what's with this 30-45 minutes "on game day" crap? The game was in progress at the time. (We know, because the reason the Michigan doctors got no police escort back to the stadium was because they supposedly couldn't do one til after the game.) All the traffic is still in the stadium or the bars. This EMT sounds like a real fuckwit.
October 27th, 2017 at 8:08 AM ^
I was in a major city in the Southern U.S., and my then three year-old daughter ate some berries off of a bush. I call poison control, and they put me on hold. After five minutes*, they come back on and I tell them what's going on. They put me back on hold for five minutes, and when the pick up again I said "please don't put me on hold again, this is serious".
Their response? "We're poison control - we'll tell you if it's serious or not." Not that it would have mattered, but I never copped a hostile attitude with the asshole on the other end of the phone. I'm sure I sounded stressed since I was.
Most EMTs, 911 staff, etc. that I've talked to have been great, but there are some power-hungry passive-aggressive jackasses in these roles too.
*Five minutes is a long freakin' time when you're seeking help for a potential poisoning situation.
October 26th, 2017 at 9:46 PM ^
October 26th, 2017 at 9:47 PM ^
and people were actually giving Harbaugh shit for complaining about it. This is disgusting, I can't beleive this could happen to an athlete at a Big10 event. All the money people talk about and this is how you care for kids?
October 26th, 2017 at 9:47 PM ^
Speight has been nothing short of a gladiator during his time as a quarterback here at Michigan. I hope he heals up 100% and can have a great rest of his career and life beyond.
October 26th, 2017 at 9:48 PM ^
I don't care how we do it. Hires, retention, business, teaching, services and professional care. Kid wants to mow your lawn, you see him wearing a Purdue t-shirt, then mow your own damn lawn. Every opportunity you mention why the treatment is being meted out. With our community, the message will get through.
October 26th, 2017 at 9:48 PM ^
October 27th, 2017 at 1:10 PM ^
Penn State says...hello? As bad as this is, let's keep some perspective here.
October 26th, 2017 at 9:50 PM ^
October 26th, 2017 at 9:50 PM ^
October 26th, 2017 at 9:51 PM ^
October 27th, 2017 at 1:46 AM ^