Ryan Shazier Deadlifting Is Both Sad and Inspiring
By Henry McKenna
Almost exactly one year ago, Ryan Shazier’s lower body went limp after he suffered a scary spinal injury while making a tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers. A few months later, he was spotted in a wheelchair on the sideline of the Steelers’ facility.
On Thursday, a video of Shazier deadlifting popped up on social media. The video is absurd, inspiring and tragic. The fact that he has come this far is remarkable and incredible, considering a doctor said he may never play football again. And yet, it’s a brutal reminder of what Shazier was before his injury: one of the most promising linebackers in the NFL. He’s re-learning to walk and re-learning to lift weights, just two years after beating Antonio Brown in a footrace.
As a point of reference, this is a video of Shazier on Oct. 14.
Ryan Shazier walks back onto the field he left last Dec. 4. #Steelers pic.twitter.com/5XOdNkv8nn
— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) October 14, 2018
After suffering what the team called a spinal contusion on Dec. 4, he underwent spinal stabilization surgery on Dec. 6. With the hopes of returning to the NFL, Shazier has undergone rigorous rehab.