Players must be aware of any danger on the field at all times, even if the threat comes from an official.
As East Carolina’s defense was getting set up to defend against the Temple Owls at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, a referee stumbled and fell into the leg of Pirates defensive back David Coleman Jr.
Coleman could not put any weight on the leg and had to be assisted off the field by trainers.
According to On3, Coleman suffered a fractured fibula on the play.
The bizarre play will almost certainly end Coleman’s productive freshman season. The Pirates did win the game, however. Ending a two-game losing streak and helping to right a Pirates ship that had clearly veered off course.
“Two weeks that are disappointing,” Pirates coach Blake Harrell said about the team’s recent struggles. “Two weeks that we would love to have back. But that doesn’t mean that I’m not going to get up and get out of bed and keep fighting for this university.
“To keep fighting for Pirate Nation, a place that I get to come to work, I get to be a part of, and that’s been special over the last two years.”
