Wilton Speight’s father rips Purdue over handling of son’s injury

The father of Michigan Wolverines quarterback Wilton Speight ripped Purdue for the way the school handled his son’s injury suffered during a game between the schools in September.

Angelique S. Chengelis of The Detroit News published a lengthy article on Thursday that included a detailed recap of how Speight’s injury was handled. The QB was hit in the back during the first quarter and ended up with three fractured vertebrae:

While speaking with the media two days after Speight’s injury, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh was critical of Purdue and its in-stadium facilities. He described the training/medical room available to the team as inadequate, saying it looked like it was from the ’20s. He also lamented that Speight had to be transported to a facility a few blocks away for an X-ray, and that no brace was provided.

“What an absolute train wreck,” Speight’s father Bobby told The Detroit News regarding the experience. He said the locker room was “dark, dingy, dirty.”

The Speights say there were delays in transporting their son, getting the X-rays done, and there were issues transmitting the images in high-resolution back to Michigan doctors.

“There was no urgency at all,” Bobby Speight complained.

Harbaugh’s complaints began a conversation that could lead to some changes within the conference regarding the standards for medical facilities and visiting locker room around the Big Ten.