After transferring from Arizona State to Boise State last year and redshirting the 2014 college football season, wide receiver Rick Smith was expected to play a big role for the Broncos in 2015. But as of right now, it's unclear whether or not he'll be able to play next season because of an injury that he sustained as a result of a punch that was allegedly thrown by one of his own teammates.
According to the Press-Telegram, Smith and a teammate were "playfully slapboxing" in the Boise State locker room on February 9 when the alleged incident occurred. Smith turned to walk away from his teammate thinking they were finished, but his teammate reportedly continued swinging and hit him in the back of the head. Smith then fell into a locker before collapsing to the ground. He was hospitalized in Boise, Idaho and eventually discharged. But when the pain from the punch didn't go away, Smith was hospitalized again in Southern California, where doctors discovered that he had suffered a significant brain injury.
"Rick was assaulted by one of his teammates," a family member wrote on a GoFundMe page that was set up for Smith. "Rick is suffering from a skull fracture, brain hemorrhage, and his entire brain is swollen."
Smith's family is planning on pressing charges against his teammate. But in the meantime, the wide receiver is undergoing speech and physical therapy and has been told not to participate in any sports for at least the next eight months. So his future with football is up in the air at the moment, and it's all because of a stupid slapboxing session.
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[via Barstool Sports]
