Playing football can be dangerous. Working along the sideline or at practice is no picnic, either.
New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton broke his left leg on the sideline at Tampa Bay recently. Jacksonville Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio injured his left leg a week ago Monday night against Baltimore.
Then there's the case of
Joe Aulisio, a sports reporter for
CBS affiliate WKBN in Youngstown, Ohio, who is recovering from a concussion and two broken vertebrae, injuries he sustained during a high school football practice last week.
Aulisio, also the assistant sports director for MyValleySports.com, was injured while working on a feature story about
Liberty (Youngstown, Ohio) coach Jeff Whittaker. According to the
Tribune Chronicle, Aulisio suffered the injuries when as many as four Liberty football players collided with the reporter, who was filming the coach at the time.
Liberty athletic director Dave Davis, who is also an assistant football coach, told the Warren, Ohio, newspaper paper:
"We were running a team period, just like in a game situation. It was a sweep situation. Our running back tried to get outside and a kid hit him. No one was aiming in that direction (of Aulisio), but by the time bodies stopped flying, that's where they ended up."
Aulisio's wife,
27 News Anchor Teresa Weakley, said that her husband underwent surgery the next day, and is expected to make a full recovery.
"He's lucky, there's no spinal cord damage," Weakley said.
Whittaker, who coached his final game at Liberty two nights later against
Girard, added "We had a conversation during the whole thing. (Aulisio) was more concerned about our practice. He said, 'I ruined your last practice.'
Aulisio later told his wife that Liberty players and coaches were "fantastic" and said that one of the players who ran into him was "very polite."
"Joe regularly produces the best television sports features in the market, one reason being that he takes viewers close to the action," WKBN news director Gary Coursen said in a statement.
"That style of shooting comes with risks, and while Joe was doing what he normally does, he got caught up in the play. All of us have Joe in our thoughts and prayers. We look forward to his full recovery and having him back in the newsroom."
