Dallas Cowboys rally around injured colleagues
By TODD ARCHER and BRAD TOWNSEND / The Dallas Morning News
/ The Dallas Morning News
Jason Trahan contributed to this report.
IRVING – Dallas Cowboys teammates, including stars Tony Romo and Jason Witten, rallied around their injured colleagues Sunday as word spread that scouting assistant Rich Behm was permanently paralyzed.
"It makes you feel good that people really care about you and really know you," said Behm's brother, Chris, a videographer for the team's Blue Star Media group. "You think about Tony Romo and he's the quarterback of the Cowboys and a celebrity, but he's just a normal guy. Jason Witten, he didn't have to come up to see him, but he did. They are as normal guys as you can know. It makes you feel good when it's somebody like that."
Rich Behm sustained a fractured spine that severed his spinal cord, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. He had surgery Saturday night, hours after the team's indoor practice facility collapsed, and is in stable condition at Parkland Memorial Hospital.
"He seemed to be in good spirits, too, all things considered," said right tackle Marc Colombo, who visited Behm and special teams coach Joe DeCamillis at Parkland before visiting assistant athletic trainer Greg Gaither at Baylor University Medical Center with teammate Cory Procter.
"It's like one big family," he said. "We're around each other all day. These guys bust their butts, and they're all part of the team like we are."
Owner Jerry Jones left the Kentucky Derby early and spent a large part of Saturday night visiting the injured and their families at hospitals. He was joined by coach Wade Phillips. They returned there Sunday, as did the other coaches and many players.
"To the Behm family we extend our love, comfort and the full support of every person and resource within the organization," Jones said in a statement.
"Rich is a courageous member of our family and someone for whom we care deeply," Jones said. "We ask for all friends and fans of the Dallas Cowboys to join us in embracing him and his family with their thoughts and prayers at this very difficult time."
Type of injury
Richard L. Weiner, a neurosurgeon at Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas who is not involved in Behm's treatment, said such spinal injuries are "true disasters."
"You lose all sensation and all strength and motor function of the legs," he said. "There's really not any medication we've come up with to reverse that."
Behm is married and has three children – two boys, 8 and 6, and a 7-week-old girl, his brother said. Rich Behm joined the Cowboys video department in 2002 and moved to the scouting department a year later.
He was responsible for setting up the video needs for the scouts on the road as well as doing the highlight reels for the players leading up to the draft. He sat in on draft meetings.
Chris Behm said the Jones family has been tremendously supportive.
Grateful to Jones
"People can say what they want about Jerry Jones, but that guy loves his people," said Chris Behm, who joined the team in 1999. "I've seen it twice now personally. First with [former director of broadcasting] John Chang [who died in 2002], and now with my brother and the DeCamillis family. He's the most genuine man I've met."
DeCamillis will undergo surgery today to stabilize a broken vertebra but is not paralyzed. Gaither suffered a broken right tibia and fibula and is expected to be released later this week.
Players at the Gaylord Texan Resort near Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport on Sunday, where the Cowboys' draft picks and rookie free agents returned after a team meeting, declined to comment other than to say they were OK. Several players said the Cowboys organization had asked them not to speak to the media.
Colombo said that he did not feel unsafe in the facility.
"You look at a structure that big, and you feel protected because you're inside. I don't know what went wrong, but I never got the sense that it could happen.
"It'll be a reality check tomorrow morning when we go in for workouts."
Staff writer Jason Trahan contributed to this report.
/ The Dallas Morning News
Jason Trahan contributed to this report.
IRVING – Dallas Cowboys teammates, including stars Tony Romo and Jason Witten, rallied around their injured colleagues Sunday as word spread that scouting assistant Rich Behm was permanently paralyzed.
"It makes you feel good that people really care about you and really know you," said Behm's brother, Chris, a videographer for the team's Blue Star Media group. "You think about Tony Romo and he's the quarterback of the Cowboys and a celebrity, but he's just a normal guy. Jason Witten, he didn't have to come up to see him, but he did. They are as normal guys as you can know. It makes you feel good when it's somebody like that."
Rich Behm sustained a fractured spine that severed his spinal cord, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. He had surgery Saturday night, hours after the team's indoor practice facility collapsed, and is in stable condition at Parkland Memorial Hospital.
"He seemed to be in good spirits, too, all things considered," said right tackle Marc Colombo, who visited Behm and special teams coach Joe DeCamillis at Parkland before visiting assistant athletic trainer Greg Gaither at Baylor University Medical Center with teammate Cory Procter.
"It's like one big family," he said. "We're around each other all day. These guys bust their butts, and they're all part of the team like we are."
Owner Jerry Jones left the Kentucky Derby early and spent a large part of Saturday night visiting the injured and their families at hospitals. He was joined by coach Wade Phillips. They returned there Sunday, as did the other coaches and many players.
"To the Behm family we extend our love, comfort and the full support of every person and resource within the organization," Jones said in a statement.
"Rich is a courageous member of our family and someone for whom we care deeply," Jones said. "We ask for all friends and fans of the Dallas Cowboys to join us in embracing him and his family with their thoughts and prayers at this very difficult time."
Type of injury
Richard L. Weiner, a neurosurgeon at Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas who is not involved in Behm's treatment, said such spinal injuries are "true disasters."
"You lose all sensation and all strength and motor function of the legs," he said. "There's really not any medication we've come up with to reverse that."
Behm is married and has three children – two boys, 8 and 6, and a 7-week-old girl, his brother said. Rich Behm joined the Cowboys video department in 2002 and moved to the scouting department a year later.
He was responsible for setting up the video needs for the scouts on the road as well as doing the highlight reels for the players leading up to the draft. He sat in on draft meetings.
Chris Behm said the Jones family has been tremendously supportive.
Grateful to Jones
"People can say what they want about Jerry Jones, but that guy loves his people," said Chris Behm, who joined the team in 1999. "I've seen it twice now personally. First with [former director of broadcasting] John Chang [who died in 2002], and now with my brother and the DeCamillis family. He's the most genuine man I've met."
DeCamillis will undergo surgery today to stabilize a broken vertebra but is not paralyzed. Gaither suffered a broken right tibia and fibula and is expected to be released later this week.
Players at the Gaylord Texan Resort near Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport on Sunday, where the Cowboys' draft picks and rookie free agents returned after a team meeting, declined to comment other than to say they were OK. Several players said the Cowboys organization had asked them not to speak to the media.
Colombo said that he did not feel unsafe in the facility.
"You look at a structure that big, and you feel protected because you're inside. I don't know what went wrong, but I never got the sense that it could happen.
"It'll be a reality check tomorrow morning when we go in for workouts."
Staff writer Jason Trahan contributed to this report.
posted by The Gryphon at 5:47 PM
<< Home