Nineteen people were treated for injuries in the aftermath of the UVA-Florida State football game Friday night, with UVA officials attributing the injuries to two unrelated matters – the field storm by fans from the north end zone area known as The Hill after the game’s final play, and an “isolated incident” that occurred after the game that apparently took place outside Scott Stadium.
Details are sketchy, because UVA officials are standing behind very closely worded statements on what took place, and how it was handled – and, shocker, they’re not saying much.
“Following Friday’s football game, a large number of spectators rushed the field. Law enforcement officers took immediate action to maintain public safety and provided medical care on the scene. We were made aware of an isolated incident that occurred after the game. That situation was promptly addressed to ensure the safety of all attendees. The University of Virginia Police Division, in collaboration with local and state law enforcement partners, responded quickly to these events. Together, our agencies remain committed to providing a safe environment for the university community and its visitors.”
That was the official word on what happened that we got from Bethanie Glover, a deputy spokesperson in the communications office at the University of Virginia.
Glover then referred me to Eric Swensen, a public information officer at UVA Health, “who can provide the latest info on injuries from UVA Health’s perspective,” she said to me by email.
What we got from Swensen:
“We treated 19 patients at UVA Health University Medical Center – per Health System policy, we cannot comment on specifics of injuries.”
Not giving either Glover or Swensen hell here – they’re just doing their jobs.
And it’s not their job to put a negative light on something that got reams of national attention for UVA.
But obviously, a lot is being left unsaid.
I checked with our photographer, Mike Ingalls, who was on the field during the field storm, and was himself in harm’s way.
Ingalls told me that he saw one young woman on the field on a stretcher with an apparent leg injury, which would jibe with online reports about a young woman with a broken leg.
We’re not confirming the broken leg here, mind you – just that there was a young woman with an apparent leg injury on a stretcher, per our eyewitness account.
I don’t want to feed the rumor mill, which is already in overdrive here.
There was also concern expressed online for the three players in the end zone involved in the final play of the game – FSU wideout Squirrel White, the intended receiver on the play; Ja’Son Prevard, the UVA defensive back who came down with the ball for the game-sealing INT; and another UVA DB, Emmanuel Karnley, who had been trailing the play.
Per Ingalls, “all are fine,” able to get away from the scene unscathed.
I’ve not seen anything from either school’s athletics departments indicating otherwise, and according to reporting in the Tallahassee Democrat:
Florida State coach Mike Norvell said he did not think any Seminoles were injured during the field storming.
“I’m not sure of any issues,” Norvell said. “We’ve got everybody in the locker room.”
Ingalls also figures into the story here in the apparent incident outside the stadium as well. He was stuck on a media shuttle outside the stadium for “nearly an hour” as a situation on Alderman Road, which passes in front of Scott Stadium, was unfolding.
“We were never told what the situation was,” Ingalls told me.
I’ve got an email in to the UVA Police Department to see if I can get more on the second incident, but I’m expecting that the evasive answer from the main communications office is all we’re going to get, unfortunately.
ICYMI
- ‘Hoos 46, #8 FSU 38 | That may be the prettiest ugly game we’ve ever seen
- UVA Football | ‘Hoos outlast #8 Florida State in double-OT instant classic
- UVA vs. Florida State | Live Coverage: ‘Hoos shock #8 FSU in two OTs, 46-38
Back, then, to the field storm, the screenshot of the final play at the top of this story – from a video that I shot from the press box – shows us that there were no security personnel stationed in front of the group of students on The Hill to the west side of the goalpost, and I counted one guy behind the goalpost, and a group of four or five in the corner on the east side.
Watching the final few minutes of game action from the press box, it was obvious that fans on The Hill were planning a field storm – they began pressing down toward the bottom of The Hill at the end of regulation, with Virginia holding a 35-28 lead, and preparing to close the game out, before FSU extended the game with a tying TD on a fourth-and-goal with 36 seconds left.
This is unimaginably unsafe, for all involved – and it would seem that the standard ACC fine that is in play here, $50,000, because UVA Athletics is a “first-time offender,” is a low-ball.
The money goes to the ACC’s Weaver-James-Corrigan-Swofford Postgraduate Scholarship Fund.
It maybe should go to making sure there are enough security people, and barriers, in place to keep this kind of thing from happening again.
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Chris Graham
