Player’s collapse is the latest example of our warped values

We live in a culture dominated by sports and sometimes we learn it might be considered more important than life itself.

Consider the case of Keyontae Johnson, a star basketball player for the University of Florida Gators, who, on Dec. 12, suddenly collapsed, face down. Johnson’s teammates were reported in tears, some screaming and burying their faces in towels, as an emergency medical team treated Johnson on the basketball floor before taking him, on a stretcher, to a nearby hospital by ambulance where he was reported in a coma.

So what happened?

The game continued after the players were permitted to “regroup” and say a prayer.

Leonard Hamilton, the coach for Florida State University Seminoles, the opposing team, said he gave the Gators the option to stop the game or continue, adding it was his “understanding” that the players want to play. The Gators’ coach, Mike White, was said to have left the decision up to Johnson’s teammates.

News stories said the Gators “weren’t the same afterword [after Johnson’s collapse], as both teams seemed rattled” and “visibly distraught.”

Hamilton, who did not see Johnson fall, said even some of his players were crying and questioned —- he really did —- whether the players would be able to be effective in the game.

“Those types of things can affect you in some adverse ways,’’ Hamilton said. “…If it affected our players in an emotional way, I can imagine what the situation was with his [Johnson’s] teammates.’’ Really? Hard to believe.

How in the world do you continue with the game when a player was obviously in such a serious condition? How do players concentrate when seeing their teammate suddenly collapses? How do fans cheer and holler after what they had just witnessed?

But most important, what does the decision say about our values? It was all too clear this was not a matter of a turned ankle, a broken bone, or a similar injury but that Johnson was in a critical state.

Here was truly a teachable moment, a chance for the coach to instruct his players on an invaluable lesson: Yes, the game is important, but it does not trump the well-being and, perhaps, life of any person, let alone a valued friend and teammate.

What if White had delivered the following speech at the bench:

“I am stopping this game immediately. I want you in the locker room and get dressed. Forget about showers. We are going to the hospital —- now —- as a team and we will stay there as long as possible and pray for Keyontae. Nothing is more important right now than that.

“We are a family and, as a family, we take care of each other. The game can wait.”

And he might have added, “I could not care less about our won-lost record. I want a victory for Keyontae.”

That would have been a speech they would never forget and probably created a degree of morale White had never experienced before on any of his teams. And what an important message he would and could have sent to young athletes in the country who view sports as an end-all.

The good news is that Johnson is recovering, even sending a video message in which he thanked friends and fans for their support.

Of course, this is not the first time a sports team continued to play after one of their own was seriously injured, sometimes almost fatally.

In November 1991, a Detroit Lions player, Mike Utley, suffered a near fatal injury ( broken vertebrae) and after being taken off the field on a stretcher, the game continued.

In 1990, the Detroit Pistons did not tell one of its star players, Joe Dumars, that his father had died a few hours before Game 3 of the NBA playoffs so he could play “unaffected.” He played exceptionally well, and was given the tragic news as soon as the game was over.

And there have been other such cases through the years.

We are witnessing a similar callousness about the value of life in the sports world during this pandemic. Professional and college teams are doing all they can to continue to play despite the lethal threat of the coronavirus. Johnson’s case is just the latest example of our warped values, distorted judgments on what is important, and our obsession with sports (and the money is produces).

But, sadly, it won’t be the last.