The NFL’s discussions about changes to kickoff rules in recent years have often focused on cutting down on injuries, but the kickers usually aren’t the players who are seen as being at high risk of getting hurt.
It can happen, though, and last weekend’s UFL game between the San Antonio Brahmas and Memphis Showboats provided an example. Brahmas kicker Donald De La Haye, who has gained a large social media following under the name Deestroying, went viral for a tackle he made on a kickoff in the game. De La Haye joked on social media that he needs to learn how to tackle with better form and that message was unfortunately prescient.
De La Haye says that he has been diagnosed with fractures in his neck and said he’s “grateful” because the injury could have been even worse. He blamed his tackling approach for the injury and wrote that kids should “learn to tackle with the proper form.”
De La Haye played at UCF and had a brief stint with the Toronto Argonauts before finding his way to the Brahmas.
