East Carolina had Temple right where it wanted, with the Pirates enjoying a comfortable lead. Then came an incident nobody saw coming. Freshman defensive back David Coleman Jr. was escorted off the field with a suspected broken foot, and the circumstances behind the injury point towards an unlikely culprit.

Coleman’s injury had nothing to do with a routine football play. He wasn’t attempting to make a play, catch an opponent, or try to tackle. Instead, he suffered a broken foot after an out-of-control referee inadvertently slide-tackled him.

A video shared by Carolina insider Stephen Igoe shows a referee sprinting straight towards Coleman, seemingly for no reason. The freshman defensive back was simply standing alongside a teammate, watching the play unfold, when the official suddenly charged in his direction. The referee attempted to hit the brakes, but it was too late.

He lost his footing and slid straight into Coleman, violently twisting his right leg in the collision. Following the impact, Coleman was unable to put any weight on his injured leg and had to be helped off the field by two people.

His night ended there, as he never returned to the game. ESPN later reported that the freshman was taken to a nearby hospital with an apparent broken leg.

According to Stephen Igoe, Blake Harrell was visibly furious after witnessing the incident unfold right before his eyes. The head coach was clearly unhappy with how the officials handled the situation. Coleman had started a few games for the Pirates this season and recorded six total tackles, including four solo stops and two assisted tackles.

After the game, Igoe further reported that Coleman suffered a fractured fibule due to the incident. East Carolina won the game 17-9.

Coleman had established himself as one of the team’s key contributors, and his absence will only add to East Carolina’s problems. That said, while this incident might be extremely rare, it is certainly not the first time something like this has happened.

Similar incidents have occurred throughout college football history. However, none appears to have been as devastating as David Coleman’s injury, although a couple of past incidents come close.

Back in 2008, referee Wilbur Hackett collided with South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia during the LSU clash. The SEC reviewed the footage and deemed the contact inadvertent, with no disciplinary action taken against Hackett.

Then, in 2016, USC linebacker Michael Hutchings collided with referee Ron Cherry during a game against Notre Dame. Cherry fell to the ground, required medical attention and was subsequently taken to hospital.

Another incident occurred in 2021 during Illinois’ matchup against Nebraska, when officials were involved in two separate collisions with players. One of the officials even required medical attention. However, Coleman’s case stands apart, as the referee reportedly lost his footing and slid directly into a player who was simply standing nearby.

East Carolina has not released an official statement on the incident or Coleman’s recovery timeline.

The post Cameras Catch AAC Player Helped Off Field With Reported Broken Leg After Collision With Referee appeared first on EssentiallySports. Add EssentiallySports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.