Kevin Ware suffered one of the nastiest, most gruesome leg injuries we have ever seen in sports. The sophomore guard was trying to jump out to block a Tyler Thornton 3-point attempt in the first half of the Midwest Region finals between Duke and Louisville when his leg snapped upon his landing.
Ware’s leg was broken immediately and his bone was sticking through the skin. His leg dangled perpendicular to the ground, causing an instant reaction of horror from his teammates and those on the court. The injury was so bad that players on both sides felt emotional.
One of Ware’s Louisville teammates, Luke Hancock, tried to comfort him as trainers worked to stabilize his gruesome injury.
Others could hardly watch and Russ Smith was in tears after seeing the injury.
Coach K looked on with concern and was on the verge of tears:
Players from both teams and fans on both sides clapped as Ware was taken off on a stretcher. Rick Pitino wiped away tears as he watched Ware leave:
CBS did a good job handling the situation. They didn’t show any more replays than were necessary, and they captured the emotion on the court.
The well wishes for Ware came in over Twitter immediately.
I don’t even have words. Only prayers right now.
— Kevin Love (@kevinlove) March 31, 2013
Wow! Speedy recovery for Kevin Ware hopefully! Scary moment! Prayers and blessings to you bud! #NCAA
— Bryce Harper (@Bharper3407) March 31, 2013
Prayers to Kevin Ware and his family.. So sad.. I’m praying for you bro.
— Baron Davis (@Baron_Davis) March 31, 2013
Former Louisville football player Michael Bush, who suffered a nasty broken leg himself during a college game, had a strong reaction for Ware.
I can’t even get myself together. I don’t even wanna watch the rest of this game. His life just change
— Michael Bush (@michaelbush29) March 31, 2013
And Joe Theismann, who notoriously suffered one of the most gruesome leg injuries in sports, tweeted his support for Ware:
Watching Duke/ Louisville my heart goes out to Kevin Ware.
— Joe Theismann (@Theismann7) March 31, 2013
We hate doing this, but we know you must be curious about the injury. If you want to see what the injury looked like, you can click on the links below. Beware: they are extremely graphic.
Kevin Ware leg injury bone sticking out
Here is a video of the injury for those who have a strong stomach:
According to CBS reporter Tracy Wolfson, Ware told his teammates not to worry about him and that they should go out and win the game.
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be OK. Go win this thing,” Ware said, per Wolfson.
CBS also reported that Ware was taken to the hospital with a broken leg. After the game, Pitino confirmed that Ware was simply telling his teammates to “win” the entire time he was being tended to.
