Louisville Players And Coaches Describe The Moment They Saw Kevin Ware Break His Leg
If everything goes as planned, it sounds like Ware will be okay, which was hard to imagine in the immediate aftermath of the injury.
A number of Louisville players and coaches spoke with Kyle Tucker of the Courier, and shared what they were thinking right when the injury happened. Their quotes give you some insight into an experience that's hard to imagine — someone you live and work with suffering a catastrophic injury while doing a seemingly banal activity right in front of you.
"When he landed, I heard it. And then I saw … and I immediately just — just, like, fell. And I almost didn’t feel anything. It was really hard for me to pull myself together, because I didn’t ever think in a million years I would see something like that."
"I went over and I was going to help him up and then all the sudden I saw what it was and I literally almost threw up. And then I just wanted to try to get a towel to get it over that. But all the players came over and saw it."
Duke's Tyler Thorton, who was next to Ware:
"My heart just dropped when I saw it. I was freaked out. He lifted his leg in the air and I saw where his leg was broken. It was bent in a weird way that it shouldn’t have been."
“His bone was sticking out of his shin. I’m only 30, but I’ve never seen something like that.”
"It was just very sad to see, the worst I’ve ever seen. It was heartbreaking. We’re going to finish this season off with Kevin as an inspiration."
Sophomore forward Chane Behanan (via ESPN):
"I dropped to go the ground. I've never seen anything like that. I don't remember the last time I cried."
Louisville rallied in the second half, but they were openly devastated right after the injury.