Joe Theismann on injured French gymnast Samir Ait Said: 'Oh my God'
Joe Theismann, who suffered one of the most gruesome injuries in sports history, uttered three words Sunday after watching video of Samir Ait Said of France writhe in anguish while the gymnast’s broken leg dangled during Olympics competition in Rio de Janeiro.
“Oh, my God,’’ Theismann, the former Washington Redskins quarterback, told Paste BN SPORTS.
Moments later, he added, “I just got a cold sweat.’’
In 1985, the sports world gasped when New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor put a brutal hit on Theismann that broke two bones in Theismann’s right leg and ended the quarterback’s career. On Saturday, more than three decades later, a global audience watched in horror when the French gymnast’s shin snapped upon landing his vault.
“Gosh, I feel for him so bad,’’ Theismann said. “It’s horrible.
“(My injury) was with a lot of people around. This young man was out on a stage by himself.’’
Upon learning Olympics staffers dropped the French gymnast’s stretcher as they were loading him into an ambulance, Theismann recalled a similar incident the night of his injury.
As he was moved from an ambulance gurney to a hospital gurney, Theismann said, he watched as the the lower part of his leg dropped down and dangled. Theismann recalled alerting the medical staff and making a request.
“Please get the rest of me,’’ he said.