Sports can indeed be thrilling, but there are moments that remind us of the dangers athletes face. Here are some terrifying incidents that have occurred during competitions:
1. **Mick Foley's 1998 "King of the Ring" Injuries** - During a Hell in a Cell match, Mick Foley (also known as Mankind) took multiple dangerous falls, including one from the top of the cell through the announcer's table. Fans were left in shock and concern for his well-being.
2. **Monica Seles' 1993 Stabbing** - Tennis star Monica Seles was stabbed in the back by a deranged fan during a match in Hamburg, Germany. The attack was a stark reminder of the vulnerabilities athletes face even in seemingly secure environments.
3. **Damar Hamlin's Mid-Game Heart Attack (2022)** - Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals. The incident brought the game to a halt and raised awareness about the importance of immediate medical response.
4. **Kevin Ware's 2013 Leg Injury** - During an NCAA basketball game, Louisville player Kevin Ware suffered a gruesome leg fracture. The sight of his bone protruding from his leg left players, coaches, and fans horrified.
5. **Eduardo Galeano's 1985 On-Field Collapse** - During a World Cup qualifier, Uruguay's Eduardo Galeano collapsed on the field and later died from a heart attack. The incident highlighted the physical toll that intense sports can take on athletes.
6. **Dale Earnhardt's Fatal Crash (2001)** - In the final lap of the Daytona 500, NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt crashed into the wall, leading to his instant death. The tragic event underscored the inherent risks of high-speed racing.
7. **Richard Zednik's 2008 Throat Injury** - During an NHL game, Florida Panthers player Richard Zednik's throat was accidentally slashed by a teammate's skate. The incident was life-threatening and required immediate medical intervention.
8. **Marc Marquez's High-Speed Crash (2020)** - MotoGP rider Marc Marquez suffered a high-speed crash during the Spanish Grand Prix, resulting in a broken arm. The severity of the crash shocked viewers and emphasized the dangers of motorcycle racing.
These incidents serve as stark reminders of the risks involved in sports and the importance of safety measures to protect athletes.
What’s the scariest moment you’ve seen in person during sports? Feel free to share your experiences below.
1. **Mick Foley's 1998 "King of the Ring" Injuries** - During a Hell in a Cell match, Mick Foley (also known as Mankind) took multiple dangerous falls, including one from the top of the cell through the announcer's table. Fans were left in shock and concern for his well-being.
2. **Monica Seles' 1993 Stabbing** - Tennis star Monica Seles was stabbed in the back by a deranged fan during a match in Hamburg, Germany. The attack was a stark reminder of the vulnerabilities athletes face even in seemingly secure environments.
3. **Damar Hamlin's Mid-Game Heart Attack (2022)** - Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals. The incident brought the game to a halt and raised awareness about the importance of immediate medical response.
4. **Kevin Ware's 2013 Leg Injury** - During an NCAA basketball game, Louisville player Kevin Ware suffered a gruesome leg fracture. The sight of his bone protruding from his leg left players, coaches, and fans horrified.
5. **Eduardo Galeano's 1985 On-Field Collapse** - During a World Cup qualifier, Uruguay's Eduardo Galeano collapsed on the field and later died from a heart attack. The incident highlighted the physical toll that intense sports can take on athletes.
6. **Dale Earnhardt's Fatal Crash (2001)** - In the final lap of the Daytona 500, NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt crashed into the wall, leading to his instant death. The tragic event underscored the inherent risks of high-speed racing.
7. **Richard Zednik's 2008 Throat Injury** - During an NHL game, Florida Panthers player Richard Zednik's throat was accidentally slashed by a teammate's skate. The incident was life-threatening and required immediate medical intervention.
8. **Marc Marquez's High-Speed Crash (2020)** - MotoGP rider Marc Marquez suffered a high-speed crash during the Spanish Grand Prix, resulting in a broken arm. The severity of the crash shocked viewers and emphasized the dangers of motorcycle racing.
These incidents serve as stark reminders of the risks involved in sports and the importance of safety measures to protect athletes.
What’s the scariest moment you’ve seen in person during sports? Feel free to share your experiences below.
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SportsTranscript
00:00Again, players back to the bench, just looking devastated, hugging each other, and openly crying.
00:07Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at 10 of the scariest in-game sports incidents.
00:13It was so crazy, and it was so loud in there with the people.
00:19At that point, nothing like that had ever been done.
00:22For this video, we're looking at terrifying moments during competitions where fans were
00:27genuinely concerned for the safety of the athletes, and in some instances, themselves.
00:32What's the scariest moment you've seen in person during sports? Let us know below.
00:38Petr Cech and Carlo Cudicini
00:40In October 2006, tragedy nearly struck not once but twice when Reading took on Chelsea
00:46in the Premier League. Shortly into the match, a long ball towards the Chelsea box was chased
00:51by Reading's Stephen Hunt. But before he could get there, goalkeeper Petr Cech smothered the ball.
00:57Sailing all the way through, giving the opposite keeper Petr Cech.
01:01However, the momentum caused Hunt's knee to thunder against the keeper's head.
01:05Cech was taken off, and was found to have fractured his skull.
01:08He spent the remainder of his career wearing a protective helmet. His replacement, Carlo
01:13Cudicini, was accidentally knocked out when defending a corner in the game's final moments.
01:18Hanneman with a run, Cudicini did brilliantly to reach that, he's still on the ground,
01:23unhooked away almost off the line.
01:25He was placed in a neck brace and stretched off, leaving defender John Terry to play in goal.
01:31Thankfully, Cudicini escaped serious injury.
01:34Mick Foley
01:35Whenever Mick Foley wrestled under his various personas,
01:39he always gave it his all. But this was too much.
01:42Taking on The Undertaker for 1998's King of the Ring in a Hell in a Cell match,
01:47Foley as mankind was launched from the structure and threw tables in a planned spot.
01:55Later, with the two behemoths on top of the cell,
02:03Taker chokeslammed Foley on the metal. The panel was meant to dent slightly on impact.
02:09Instead, it broke away, causing Foley to fall to the ring below.
02:13Taker thought he had ended Foley's life. Instead, he dislocated his shoulder,
02:18had a tooth knocked out, and had various other nasty injuries. Yet he still finished the match.
02:24I believe the right foot was just kicking ever so gently to show, like,
02:30I'm not completely out of this ballgame yet.
02:33Reggie Brown
02:40In December 1997, the Detroit Lions hosted the New York Jets in the final game of the
02:45regular NFL season. Twenty-three-year-old linebacker Reggie Brown, who had only been
02:50drafted in 96, attempted to make a tackle in the fourth quarter to the Jets' Adrian Morel.
02:55Instead, Brown's head struck the back of another player, compressing his neck awkwardly.
03:00Immediately, Brown stopped moving for 17 minutes. He required CPR on the field to save his life,
03:07before being rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery to fuse vertebrae.
03:11Due to the quick actions of the medical staff, Brown regained movement in his limbs during rehab.
03:16However, he never played football again.
03:19Ryan Shazier
03:21Twenty years after Brown's ordeal, another linebacker had a similar horrifying experience.
03:27With the Pittsburgh Steelers taking on the Cincinnati Bengals in December 2017,
03:31Ryan Shazier attempted a tackle in the first quarter. However,
03:34his head was compressed against the side of Josh Malone.
03:38And Ryan Shazier, the leader of this Pittsburgh defense, is not getting up.
03:43Straight away, something was wrong. Shazier held his back and attempted to move his limbs.
03:49While his arms were okay, his legs were not.
03:52He immediately grabbed the middle of his back,
03:56was able to roll over onto his back, but his legs really have not moved
04:01from that position since he's been on the ground.
04:04After Shazier was taken off, he later had spinal stabilization surgery,
04:08then began a long road of recovery. But thankfully, Shazier was able to walk again.
04:14After being out a couple of years due to injury,
04:16he announced his retirement from football in September 2020.
04:20I'm going to step away from the game for a while and see what else life has to offer.
04:25I know football will always be here for me if I need it.
04:28But right now, I'm excited to explore some new challenges in different paths.
04:34Malice at the Palace
04:35Fighting in sports isn't unusual, but when the players take on the fans, that certainly is.
04:41Now Artest has jumped over the scorer's table and is trying to get down to the bench.
04:47Artest is in the stands. Oh, this is awful. Fans are getting involved. Stephen Jackson's
04:53in the fans. Rasheed Wallace going into the stands.
04:57In 2004, the Indiana Pacers faced the Detroit Pistons in the NBA,
05:01with seconds left in the game. Ron Artest, now Meta-Sandiford Artest,
05:06fouled Ben Wallace as he attempted a layup.
05:09Wallace right of Artest. This has potential to be serious if they don't get between.
05:14Wallace exploded by shoving him, causing both sets of teammates to get involved.
05:19Just when things began to calm down, a fan from the stands threw a cup towards Artest.
05:24Now the corner of my eye, I see it coming.
05:32Super slow-mo. Like it just, like it just, everybody was supposed to see it. That's how
05:38slow it went. Bam.
05:45The small forward ran towards the fan and shoved him.
05:48However, Artest had actually attacked an innocent bystander instead of the culprit.
05:52This resulted in fans and players to start brawling, forcing the officials to end the match.
05:58Afterward, five Pacers and seven fans were criminally charged for their actions.
06:03What a disgraceful showing from the Pistons fans here.
06:06Fabrice Muamba
06:07In March 2012, Tottenham Hotspur took on Bolton Wanderers in the quarterfinal of the FA Cup.
06:13With the score 1-1 in the 41st minute, we almost witnessed a tragedy. Bolton midfielder Fabrice
06:19Muamba suddenly collapsed on the pitch as his heart stopped. Medical teams, plus a fan that
06:25was a cardiologist, tended to him on the pitch before rushing him to the hospital.
06:28And at first there was some doubt among some of the spectators.
06:32As to the nature and seriousness of the incident, that has now evaporated.
06:36Muamba was technically deceased for 78 minutes,
06:40until the doctors managed to get his heart going again after 15 shocks.
06:44He then had an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator, or ICD, inserted.
06:49All that has happened over the past 45 minutes or so,
06:52rendered entirely redundant by what has just occurred inside White Hart Lane.
06:59Two weeks after the incident, Muamba was released from the hospital.
07:03However, the 24-year-old retired from football shortly afterwards.
07:07In 2022, he returned to Bolton as a coach for their academy.
07:11I'm just looking forward to it, you know, to hopefully I can share my experience with
07:15those young lads and then give them an opportunity to go forward and hopefully
07:18to become some good footballers as well.
07:19Clint Malarchuk
07:21In March 1989, Buffalo Sabres goaltender Clint Malarchuk collided with St. Louis Blues player
07:27Steve Tuttle, causing the right-winger's skate to cross Malarchuk's neck.
07:31Here's the pass, on into the Buffalo zone, a hard go to the corner, the pass, and oh wow!
07:36Within seconds, the problem was obvious as Malarchuk fell to the ice.
07:40As he later recounted, the goaltender thought this was it.
07:44Thankfully, former combat medic-turned-Sabres trainer Jim Pizzatelli managed to stem the
07:48wound until the emergency services arrived.
07:51It took 300 stitches to close it, but he pulled through and was back playing within 10 days.
07:57I think the longer you wait, the tougher it is mentally anyways, and I'm anxious.
08:02However, the incident had evidently left a mark on Malarchuk, as he was later treated for PTSD.
08:07That big, brave front that we put on sometimes,
08:12it is just that.
08:13I mean, I wear a mask playing goal.
08:15I think I wore a mask outside the net, too.
08:18Monika Sellis
08:19In 1993, for the quarterfinals of the Citizen Cup in Germany, the world's number one female
08:25tennis player Monika Sellis took on Magdalena Maleva.
08:29As the 19-year-old was leading, there was a break in play, allowing the two to briefly rest.
08:34Suddenly, Günter Pache approached Sellis and stabbed her in the back before being
08:38restrained by security.
08:40Luckily, the wound wasn't life-threatening, but was still serious.
08:44I remember sitting on the bench.
08:46I was just like thinking to myself, I should change.
08:49I'm giving my opponent a little bit too much what she liked.
08:53And then suddenly, I just felt such a hard pain, like a sharp pain in me.
08:58It's like, ooh.
09:00And then I wanted to touch what's in there, and I just saw blood.
09:05As such, it was expected to take a few weeks for Sellis to heal.
09:09However, the trauma from the incident resulted in her taking a two-year hiatus from tennis.
09:14Meanwhile, Pache's reasoning behind his actions was due to his obsession with Sellis' rival
09:19Steffi Graf.
09:20He was charged and only received probation for his attack.
09:24Kristian Eriksson
09:25In the delayed 2020 Euros that took place in 2021, Denmark took on Finland in their
09:31opening group game.
09:32In the 42nd minute, as Kristian Eriksson received a throw-in, he suddenly collapsed.
09:37The midfielder suffered a cardiac arrest on the field.
09:40His teammates circled around him to block the view, as medics got to work providing
09:44CPR and using a defibrillator.
09:46After being taken to the hospital, Eriksson was stabilized.
09:49He then had an ICD installed and began his recovery.
09:52Due to rules in Italy's Serie A with players with ICDs, Eriksson was released by Inter
09:57Milan.
09:58He could, though, continue his career in another country where rules are different.
10:02But in January 2022, the playmaker returned to football with England's Brentford and
10:08later signed for Manchester United.
10:10Eriksson also returned to international football in March 2022.
10:32Damar Hamlin
10:34Today we celebrate Damar's recovery, our love for Damar, and our gratitude.
10:39Please rise and show your support as only Bills Mafia can!
10:45In January 2023, the Buffalo Bills faced the Cincinnati Bengals.
10:49At one point, Damar Hamlin made a standard tackle on Tee Higgins, who went into the
10:54safeties chest.
10:55To midfield and lowers the shoulder for 13.
10:59As Hamlin stood up, he then suddenly collapsed, suffering a cardiac arrest.
11:04Immediately, medical personnel was brought on and administered treatment until they
11:08could get his heart going again.
11:10Then, an ambulance arrived on the field 10 minutes later to take Hamlin to the hospital
11:14in critical condition.
11:23Thankfully, his status improved over the following days, and he regained consciousness.
11:28Reportedly, after communicating through writing due to a breathing tube, his first spoken
11:32words were,
11:33Did we win?
11:34Only nine days after this near-tragic event, Hamlin was released from the hospital.
11:39I had a chance to speak with one of Damar Hamlin's relatives.
11:42They are, quote, ecstatic about this news.
11:45They are so rejoicing about this news.
11:48The fact that he is finally, not just out of one hospital, the University of Cincinnati
11:52Medical Center, but now the second hospital, Buffalo General Medical Center.
11:56Check out these other clips from WatchMojo,
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