The Philadelphia Eagles came out with a big win on Monday night against NFC East Rivals Washington Football Team, 20-16. The contest ended in some controversy as some Eagles fans literally fell onto the field as they were cheering on Philly star Jalen Hurts post-game. No more than four individuals sustained injuries from the accident at Washington's FedEx Field, and apparently, all of them are now saying that they weren't given sufficient medical attention by stadium personnel after the incident.
To make matters worse, these victims are all saying that they were rudely asked to get off the field as soon as possible. The railing collapsed as the fans were greeting Hurts, who himself was making his way to the locker room after the win. A handful of fans spilled onto the field in what turned out to be a scary incident.
#Eagles QB Jalen Hurts was sacked only once during today’s game. Almost had a second on his way to the locker room. pic.twitter.com/WwBE5pXaxO
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) January 2, 2022
For their part, Washington Football Team came out with this statement to address the accident inside their stadium:
“To our knowledge, everyone involved was offered onsite medical evaluation and left the stadium of their own accord. We're very glad no one appears to have been seriously injured. The safety of our fans and guests is of the utmost importance and we are looking into what occurred.”
The fans who were involved in the incident, however, have refuted these claims made by Washington. Apparently, the only thing they were told to do by the stadium staff was to “get the f–k off the field”:
“They didn't ask if anyone was hurt, and they sure as hell didn't ask if anybody needed medical attention,” said Andrew Collins, 26, of Brooklawn, New Jersey, via Tim McManus of ESPN. “The only thing the staff said to us was to get the F off the field.”
“‘Everybody get the F off the field,' and [they] quickly grabbed us away from Jalen and shooed us up into the stands,” claimed Mike Naimoli of Sicklerville, New Jersey.
Naimoli headed to Inspira Medical Center in Mullica Hill, New Jersey on Sunday after the incident together with his fiancée, Morgan French, who herself was also injured in the accident. Naimoli was later diagnosed with a head injury, a cervical strain, and contusions on his elbow and knee. French, on the other hand, sustained several bruises along her legs.
“I was the last person to fall,” said French. “I was on top of everyone so I quickly jumped up, and the security guard literally pulled me up by my two arms and got me off the field. I didn't have time to process. I was more so in shock.”
According to an official of Washington Football Team, the Eagles fans rushed into a restricted area that was designated for disabled individuals. The railings were supposedly “not designed to withstand hundreds of pounds leaning into it” which caused it to collapse. Naimoli revealed, however, that stadium security actually permitted them to go to the area and that there were no signs that it was restricted:
“The security guard at the bottom, we [asked] him, ‘Can we go over there?' And he was like, ‘Yeah,'” Naimoli said. “If Washington Football Team wants to come out and say that the area is restricted, there was no documentation of that at all. The one security guard that was right in front of that area swept us in there and was like, ‘OK, go ahead over to the tunnel.'”
The good news here is that most of the victims suffered minor injuries. No one appears to have gotten seriously hurt. However, there are still several issues that need to be addressed here. Be it the security of the fans inside FedEx Field or the way stadium personnel handle emergency situations, because let's face it, this accident could have been far worse.
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