Freak Accident Poses a Harsh Warning

On March 6th, the face of the University of Georgia's baseball team suffered an injury that paralyzed him from the waist down, along with loss of feeling in his fingers. Johnathan Taylor, outfielder and leader of the Bulldogs team, collided with another outfielder injuring his C-5 and C-6 vertebrae. Upon being taken to the hospital, Taylor was taken into surgery where they found that he had not severed his spinal cord, meaning there is a larger chance for recovery.

Outfield collisions have become quite common in baseball; however, most players are lucky enough to avoid breaking their neck. Unfortunately, Taylor is among the unlucky few. Positively thinking though, initially Taylor was put on a ventilator and an electric wheelchair. Now he is able to push himself in a wheelchair and can breath on his own. He is also undergoing physical training to strengthen his muscles. As the video shows (http://espn.go.com/), the athlete in Taylor still wants to train regardless of his situation.

When something like this happens, it raises the question of whether or not players should be warned of freak accidents like this before becoming committed to the sport. With sports such as football and hockey, injuries are more common than not with the level of contact that is required, however, with baseball, player collisions and injuries are not the basis of the game. I am sure some athletes don't realize the horrid accidents that have happened in the past with certain sports and they should be aware of those risks. If it was me, though, those risks wouldn't be a huge factor. These athletes obvious love the sports they play enough to continue through college and thus a warning label won't stop them from playing. But injuries like these do make you open your eyes to the possibilities.