Most professional sports are very physical so it comes as no surprise that a lot of players get injured. Some athletes’ careers are shortened or even ended thanks to injuries.
Every once in a while though you’ll hear of an injury that took place that is a little bit odd. Nobody ever wants to see a player injured but some of these injuries you just have to laugh.
Alex Stepney (Manchester United)
One of soccer’s jaw dropping moments came from Manchester United’s Alex Stepney. Alex Stepney was a goaltender for the Manchester United when they became the first English team to win the European Cup. On one occasion Alex Stepney had an unusual sports injury when he broke his jaw during a game. Was it because of a collision at the goal? Was it because Stepney used his face to block a shot? No, it was because Alex Stepney yelled so hard he broke his jaw.
Bill Gramatica (Miami Dolphins)
Have you ever wondered why kickers in football are so disrespected? Here is why. One of the most well known NFL moments by a kicker was when a kicker had an unusual sports injury. What made it even worse is that the injury didn’t occur during the play. After Bill Gramatica made a kick he decided he was going to celebrate like he just won the Super Bowl. Bill Gramatica leapt high into the air and when he landed he tore his anterior cruciate ligament.
Chris Hanson (Jacksonville Jaguars)
The Bill Gramatica injury was pretty humiliating but at least there was no self-mutilation involved like Chris Hanson’s unusual sports injury. When Chris Hanson was a kicker for the Jacksonville Jaguars his coach was Jack Del Rio. After the Jacksonville Jaguars had lost three games in a row Jack Del Rio brought in an axe and a piece of wood and told his team to “keep chopping wood.” Everyday players would take a chop at the piece of wood. One day Chris Hanson was done working out and went to take his chop of the day but his swing was way off and he ended up cutting his own leg instead.
David Seaman (Manchester City)
They say that car accidents most often come close to home. Often an unusual sports injury will come close to home too. That is the case with Manchester City’s David Seaman. David Seaman once pulled a back in his muscle after reaching for his television remote. Women think that guys are lazy when we have to have our remote with us at all times but the truth is we are just trying to prevent back injuries.
Derrick Mason (Baltimore Ravens)
Derrick Mason was enjoying his day off taking in a game of golf like many people do on their day off. Little did Derrick Mason know that not even golf is free of an unusual sports injury. Derrick Mason took a swing at his golf ball and on an ordinary swing he broke his wrist. Derrick Mason asked for a mulligan and was furious when his friends told him that a mulligan would not unbreak his wrist.
Glenn Healy (Toronto Maple Leafs)
There are some things that are just more important than sports and you can understand why somebody would risk injury for them. Like for example if an athlete’s child was about to get hit by a car I’m sure an athlete would risk their life to save them. That’s not what happened to Glenn Healy but his unusual sports injury came while handling something almost as important as a child. One off-season Glenn Healy cut his hand very deep while changing the bag on his bagpipes.
Gus Frerotte (St. Louis Rams)
A lot of players in the NFL celebrate after scoring a touchdown. There are a lot of creative celebrations but none were as creative as Gus Frerotte’s touchdown celebration. After scoring a touchdown Gus Frerotte decided that his touchdown celebration would include impersonating a complete moron and head-butted a wall. Minutes later Gus Frerotte woke up from his concussion and asked his doctor, “what did you celebration of my think dance?”
Kevin Johnson (Phoenix Suns)
During the 90’s there was a great Nike ad campaign where Charles Barkley played a one-on-one game of basketball against Godzilla. In the end Charles Barkley and Godzilla live happily ever after and I’m sure they enjoyed demolishing cities together. After one game Kevin Johnson suffered an unusual sports injury when Charles Barkley decided to demolish his own teammate. After Kevin Johnson made a game-winning shot Charles Barkley gave Kevin Johnson a bear hug and squeezed Kevin Johnson so tight that it dislocated Johnson’s shoulder.
Lionel Letizi (Paris Saint-Germain)
Often athletes need to wind down after a physical sport and play a game that uses the mind. It’s no surprise that Lionel Letizi would spend his off time playing Scrabble but not many people expected it to be Lionel Letizi’s way of getting his unusual sports injury. Lionel Letizi pulled his back muscle reaching for a Scrabble piece he dropped. Nobody knows for sure but a reliable source tells me Lionel Letizi was reaching for the Q so at least it was a 10-point letter he got injured for.
Lionel Simmons (Sacramento Kings)
I’ve never injured myself playing Scrabble or reaching for the television remote but the one unusual sports injury I can relate to was suffered by Lionel Simmons of the Sacramento Kings. During the 1990-91 season Lionel Simmons missed two games because of wrist tendonitis. Simmons go the tendonitis from playing too many hours on the Nintendo Gameboy. You’re probably laughing right now but you try and stop playing Tetris, it’s addictive man.
