Jalen Hurts, quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles, wants to know if the NFL and the Washington Football Team will take action after a FedEx Field railing collapsed next to him following a game this weekend.
The incident took place after Philly’s victory over Washington Sunday, when Hurts was leaving the field only for a railing—that was separating fans from players entering the locker room—to collapse, plunging fans to the ground.
The Washington Football Team later released a statement, sharing that the franchise is “looking into” things and that to their knowledge, “everyone involved was offered onsite medical evaluation and left the stadium of their own accord.”
But after having some time to reflect on what took place, Hurts is looking for an answer on what will be done to address the safety concern of fans, media, and players, per a letter shared by the Washington Post’s Nicki Jhabvala.
In his letter, Hurts explains that he’s “extremely concerned” for the well-being of those at games, and would like to know “what safeguards the NFL and Washington Football Team are implementing to prevent this from ever occurring in the future.”
“The resources of the NFL and team organizations ensure our safety through playing this physical sport, but what happened on Sunday put both fans and players unnecessarily at risk long after the final whistle,” he shared.
Hurts also spoke about his letter at a team press conference, explaining that it was also sent to league officials and that he tried to handle the situation with “poise and compassion” for the people that fell.
“But I know it could’ve been so much worse,” he said. “It kind of didn’t hit me til’ after the fact. Having some time to reflect on it and think about it. I just wanted to see what could be done to make sure it doesn’t happen again, that’s all I really care about.”
Fans have even since denied the WFT’s statement about the incident, telling ESPN that they were not offered on-site medical evaluation as claimed. Prince George’s County EMS personnel were reportedly on the scene within 5 minutes, but four fans who fell claim they didn’t get offered treatment for mostly minor injuries. NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy wrote in an email that the league is “reviewing the matter with the club to understand what happened and to ensure it does not happen again,” per ESPN.
“They didn’t ask if anyone was hurt, and they sure as hell didn’t ask if anybody needed medical attention,” said Andrew Collins, 26. “The only thing the staff said to us was to get the F off the field.”
