Ricardo Lockette: “Am I about to die?”
By Keith Myers
Retired Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Ricardo Lockette opens up about the injury that ended his career and the perspective that such events often bring.
The NFL career of wide receiver Ricardo Lockette came to a sudden end in the middle of last season. Our last images of him in a Seattle Seahawks uniform will be of him being carted off the field in Dallas after being strapped to a board to stabilize his head and neck.
What we were told in the days that followed was that Lockette didn’t have a spinal cord or vertebrae injury, which was great news. Instead he had muscle and ligament damage that required surgery to stabilize his neck.
The injury was serious, career threatening, but not life threatening. That what we were told. We were told incorrectly.
Lockette recently told his own story in The Players Tribune. It is powerful and beautifully written. If you haven’t read it yet, or even if you have, I highly suggest clicking that link and reading the details from the man himself.
"I used to want a black Lambo and a seven-room house. That’s what I dreamed about.Now, all of a sudden, I can’t move. And the only thing that mattered to me in the entire world was being able to see my family again, to hold my kids in my arms.Then I remembered something that broke my heart. My daughter was in the crowd. It was her 10th birthday. She wanted to come down to Dallas to see me play. Now she was watching her daddy lying on the field, surrounded by teammates and trainers.Lord, you have to help me."
Regular readers here at 12thMR know that I was occasionally critical of Lockette’s on-field play. I have never been, and I doubt I will ever be, critical of Ricardo Lockette the person.
This is a guy that never made big money, but worked very hard to get the most out of his god-given talent. He always showed great character, and it took courage to open up and tell us the time in his life when he was most vulnerable.
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The only thing I’d like to say to Lockette now is “Thank You.” Thank you for letting us cheer for you on Sundays. Thank you for sharing your story. We’ll all miss seeing you in Seahawks uniform this year.