Twenty years ago this month football fans watched in horror as Detroit Lions linebacker Reggie Brown suffered a serious spinal cord injury during a game that left him paralyzed, unconscious, unable to breathe, and near death. Brown, who lives in Houston now with his wife and two sons, recently discussed that fateful December day, what happened in the hours, weeks and years that followed, and how he still enjoys watching the game that almost took his life.
The final quarter of the Detroit Lions’ regular-season finale against the New York Jets seemed to be a dream conclusion to the 1997 football season. The more than 75,000-person audience at the Pontiac Silverdome erupted in delight as the Lions held on to a 13-10 lead on the edge of victory and a playoff berth. To add to the suspense, running back Barry Sanders was just yards away from surpassing 2,000 yards rushing for the season, a feat accomplished only twice before.
Then, late in the game, calamity struck on a single play. In an instant, the dream had changed into a nightmare.
Reggie Brown, the Texas A&M second-year linebacker who had started all 16 games, lunged in to tackle Jets running back Adrian Murrell on what appeared to be a routine carry. Replays showed Brown encircling a diving Murrell while the crown of his head collided with the back of a falling Jets player, Lamont Burns.
“It was very routine,” Brown stated flatly. “I just saw the running back get the ball and came out of my break full speed to make the tackle like I’d done thousands of times before.” Then I felt a pressure on the top of my head that I hadn’t anticipated. I recall collapsing on my back.”
“We put a stop to him. Come on, people. Get up!” Brown recalled fellow Lions linebacker Antonio London telling him as he peered up at the roof of the Pontiac Silverdome.
As much as Brown wanted to get up and join his teammates in the huddle, he couldn’t. He had lost complete control of his body. Nothing moved. He was paralyzed. The paralysis was terrifying; then, things got worse, much worse. He couldn’t breathe.
“I’m trying to gasp for air at that point. I tell Antonio I can’t breathe. I can’t move. I remember his reaction to me and him telling people to come out toward me to help me. A few seconds later everything goes black.
