Has any athlete ever been paralyzed from an in-game injury?

[hajario]

In the early 80’s I was at a football game between Long Beach State and UCLA. A Long Beach defensive player broke his neck in a freak accident and was totally paralyzed. The game was stopped for over an hour while they stabilized him and got him off of the field.

Googling tells me that his name is Todd Hart and that they give out an award at Long Beach state, The Todd Hart Courage Award, every year to one of their athletes. I couldn’t find anything about his current condition.

[Huerta88]

The sad story that came to mind was of Chucky Mullins of Ole Miss – as is apparently not uncommon, his paralysis led to complications that ultimately proved fatal.

Chucky Mullins

[DoperChic]

Not sure if the WWE fits exactly into the definition of a sport (the company bills itself as sprorts entertainment) but wrestler Owen Hart was actually killed during the lead-in to a match.

On May 23, 1999 Hart fell to his death in Kansas City, Missouri, during the Over the Edge 1999 pay-per-view event. He was 34 years old. Owen was in the process of being lowered into the ring from the rafters of Kemper Arena for a booked Intercontinental Championship match against The Godfather. In keeping with the Blazer’s new ‘buffoonish superhero’ character, Hart was to be lowered to just above ring level, at which time he would release himself from the safety harness and fall flat on his face for comedic effect. It was an elaboration on a Blue Blazer stunt done on the Sunday Night Heat before Survivor Series 1998 where the Blue Blazer had come down from the rafters but was attacked when he was unable to release himself from the harness [34] (that is how the stunt was supposed to go, not a malfunction). Owen had performed the stunt only a few times before, and was worried about performing the stunt at Kemper Arena due to the height involved (Owen had a fear of heights). Something went wrong with the stunt which triggered the early release mechanism. Owen fell 78 feet (24 m) into the ring, smashing his chest on a padded, but still unforgiving turnbuckle, throwing him into the ring. He died from his injuries (including a severed aorta that filled his lungs with blood) less than an hour later[35].

[Huerta88]

And in boxing, Duk Koo Kim died after being knocked out by Ray Mancini.

[borschevsky]

Brad Hornung

[Wee_Bairn]

NHL player Bill Masterton died after being hit in an NHL game.

Off topic, but similar, NFL player Chuck Hughes had a heart attack and died during a game.

[FatBaldGuy]

With reference to the injury mentioned in the OP, from last night’s basketball game,

@Deseret Morning News

Reserve point guard Dee Brown was at the Jazz’s practice facility Thursday morning, but did not work out with the team. Brown will travel to Oakland with the club for Friday’s Game 3 of Utah’s Western Conference semifinal series with Golden State. His status for the game is doubtful, however.

The rookie point guard was diagnosed with a sprained neck and will receive treatment with the team on the road.

From here

[SnakesCatLady]

A player from the local arena football team had a head on collision with a Daytona player that resulted in the death of the Daytona player.

[JSexton]

@DoperChic

Not sure if the WWE fits exactly into the definition of a sport (the company bills itself as sprorts entertainment) but wrestler Owen Hart was actually killed during the lead-in to a match.

There’s also Darren “Droz” Drozdov, left a quadraplegic after a botched wrestling move.

[cwthree]

@Manduck

Also I guess Christopher Reeve counts - he was injured in a horse jumping competition.

Yes, Christopher Reeve counts. It’s a sport, and he was competing.

[asterion]

@happywaffle

Used to be a lot worse; the NCAA was founded because of a tremendous number of injuries on college fields. In 1905 alone, 18 college football players died, even though there were only a fraction as many actually playing.

Of course, back then they used formations that are banned today, such as the flying wedge.

[Shagnasty]

There was one in my hometown. A high school lineman participated in a bad hit and was paralyzed from the waist down for life. He was my father’s age and sometimes came to our church and other events to speak.

[sinjin]

Jill Kinmont, skier injured while trying out for the Olympics. I still remember crying during the TV movie in the 70’s.

Her website

[BetsQ]

Another gymnast - Julissa Gomez. She was paralyzed and suffered brain damage during vaulting warm-ups for a competition in 1988. That accident is a part of the reason that the shape of the vault changed a few years ago.

Julissa Gomez

[Capa84]

JT Townsend, who was a star on his HS football team here in Jacksonville, was paralyzed from the neck down making a tackle a few years ago. His story is pretty inspirational, as he has managed to enroll in college, and make several other strides when doctors were not even sure he would live

http://www.jttownsend.com/articles.htm

[Miss_Woodhouse]

I remember back in the mid nineties an Idaho State football player was paralyzed from a neck injury. I don’t remember his name, though.

[Saint_Cad]

@hajario

In the early 80’s I was at a football game between Long Beach State and UCLA. A Long Beach defensive player broke his neck in a freak accident and was totally paralyzed. The game was stopped for over an hour while they stabilized him and got him off of the field.

Googling tells me that his name is Todd Hart and that they give out an award at Long Beach state, The Todd Hart Courage Award, every year to one of their athletes. I couldn’t find anything about his current condition.

I was at the game too. Todd landed upside-down on his head and I remember the eerieness of watching him not move at all.

[NinetyWt]

@Huerta88

Chucky Mullins of Ole Miss

Thanks for posting that. Chucky was the first one in my mind, upon reading the OP.

[Malacandra]

@si_blakely

Rugby Union keeps mucking about with the scrum rules in an attempt to reduce spinal injuries - the most recent change being to the engagement (when the scrums come together).

Yes, the referee now forms them up an arm’s length apart and calls “Crouch - Touch - Hold - Engage”. They’re still allowed to smack into each other from arm’s length but the extra step is to measure the distance.

There actually seems to be a bit of a code among the front rowers - something that they use to signal difficulties. I read an interview with an Aussie rugby international who gave credit to his opposite number in the scrum during a scare - the Aussie strained his neck and trapped a nerve during a scrum (causing temporary paralysis and a crack in the neck), yelled something - and his All Black oppo stopped pushing, yelled to stop the scrum, and held the guy in position till the collar was on. All was well in the end, but scrums can be rough.

And I seem to recall a Namibian player breaking his neck at a Rugby World Cup match - I guess in 1999.

Si

Yes, the unwritten Code of the Front Row states that if anyone yells “Neck!” the shoving stops instantly.* The official laws also state that if (owing to injury replacement, or whatever) there aren’t enough qualified front-rowers to make up the necessary three per side, all scrums are to be uncontested - they form up as normal, but there is no pushing, and the side putting the ball in automatically gets the possession. In lower grades of the game referees have been known to call for uncontested scrums when in their opinion one side is so outclassed that injury becomes likely.
(* It’s like the “Man down” code in footie where whichever side has the ball will put it into touch if someone is injured and needs attention, and the other side, when throwing it in again, will return it to the side that previously had possession. Typically this will be a long throw into the opposing half, but with no-one chasing it, so the other side get a free go although deep in their own territory.)

[MadTheSwine]

Matt Millen, the Detroit Lions GM, is paralyzed from the neck up,caused by banging his head on the table.