Injuries on the intramural fields
Danny Hernandez-
Sports Writer
Additional reporting by Channing Flatt
Robert Nimmo, director of recreational sports said that his staff includes supervisors on the field that oversee games and handle situations involving injuries. Before signing up for the program, players sign waivers stating that recreational sports cannot be held responsible for any injuries.
“They [supervisors] fill out the paperwork and if an ambulance needs to be called, then we call 911. But we (rec sports staff) do not transport them (injured students) to a hospital, that’s a no no,” Nimmo added.
Even when an ambulance is called, the student has the choice to decline the service and have a friend or teammate transport the student to the hospital. Once the student arrives at the hospital, rec sports has the student check in with the friend or teammate to let them know how he/she is doing. Rec sports keeps record of the paperwork filled out by the supervisor present on the field during the injury. Nimmo said there are no restrictions on the type of injuries that can be reported.
Tarleton intramurals have seen an increase in injuries this year. Photo by Danny Hernandez
“We’ve had everything from sprained ankles and dislocated shoulders to blown out knees… if you cannot return to the game because of something broken we fill out the report,” Nimmo said.
Isaac Martinez, a senior and member of the Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity all students participating in intramural sports sign waivers when signing up for the sport and before each flag football game.
“From what I gathered, IM leagues [IMleagues.com, the sign in website for intermural sports] requires you to put in your information in a database and file a waiver that says they are not responsible for any injuries or potential deaths that occur while playing rec sports or intramural sports,” Martinez said. Martinez added that before students can even play a game, they are to sign in to the website, “…you have to sign in before you can play and it’s like you’re reinstating that waiver but if you don’t sign in and something happens to you, it’s then [that] I believe rec sports is responsible,” Martinez said.
Tate Alambar a junior, sustained an injuring while playing flag football.
“I injured my acromioclavicular[AC] joint trying to catch a ball and landed on my shoulder. I couldn’t catch myself because I was catching the ball.”
“No one really helped me out at all. I pulled myself out of the game because I knew something was wrong… The refs didn’t ask if I was alright and I didn’t know if they knew I was hurt or not. But medical-wise, no one was there to check me,” said Alambar.
After the accident, Alambar got a MRI and a shoulder sling. It has been a month since his injury but still plays with his teammates.
Trenton Trotter, a sophomore at Tarleton injured his ankle playing flag football at the rec.
“I jumped up for the football, came down and my ankle bent over,” Trotter said. After Trotter was helped up by the ref and rec supervisors filled out an injury report and Trotter sat out the rest of the game. There was only one problem Trotter had with the staff: they wouldn’t cart him away from the game, he even asked for a wrap bandage around ankle so he could rest it and start the healing process properly, unfortunately, he had to wait until he got back to his accommodation.
“The only thing that I would have wanted was to be able to be given a ride on the Gator back to my dorm, but they can’t because it’s a liability,” Trotter said.
Martinez also joined a mixed martial arts club [MMA] at the rec center and injured his shoulder during a match. “I went in for a clench. I [was] taken down on a double leg takedown [and] put my arm down to break my fall but I put it out in a wrong way and dislocated my shoulder.” Martinez said. The instructor saw Martinez fall and proceeded to help him. “I had to place my hand over my left clavicle so the throbbing pain would ease,” said Martinez.
Martinez went to see his family doctor who “…stated that I have subluxed ligaments… It wasn’t too serious but my shoulder won’t be the same again.” Martinez did not fill out an injury report because everyone that joined the club signed a waiver, “The MMA club has a liability form saying that they are not responsible for any injuries that occur while competing in the club,” Martinez said.
Unfortunately, in cases such as this, if the player has signed a waiver then they are not able to bring liability to the club, however, in some cases as mentioned before, they are not helped at all to get to the hospital or to a safe area to see how they are. It is worth contacting a legal firm like a Texan injuries attorney or a Boca Raton injuries attorney, (if this too happens in that area) to discuss options on how they can be helped and if there is a case to put forward to the school about this conduct by school staff.
