On the first Sunday of this NFL season, Buffalo Bills tight end Kevin Everett sustained a catastrophic spinal cord injury when he ducked his head while tackling a Denver opponent during the second half of the Sept. 9 game. In an eerie sight, he immediately fell motionless to the turf where he remained void of sensation and unable to move.

For the next 15 minutes, fellow players, fans and television viewers looked on with knots in their stomachs as the Bills medical staff immobilized Everett and carted him off the field. The sight couldn’t have been more horrific than for Everett’s friends and family, who suddenly had their worst fears realized.

Thankfully, recent updates on Everett show promise for him to walk again. Following emergency surgery at Buffalo’s Millard Fillmore Gates Hospital to reconstruct his third and fourth vertebrae, Everett has continued with rehabilitation and was recently flown to a hospital in Houston to be closer to friends and family.

“They’re very confident he’ll be walking very soon; in the next days or weeks,” said Dr. Barth Green, Chairman of the Neurological Surgery department at the University of Miami School of Medicine.

Although the prognosis is improving for Everett, it is undeniable that he will live the rest of his life with some sort of permanent neurological disability - all because he chose to play the game of football.

Injuries are something we have become accustomed to in this day in age of sports. Whether at the youth, high school, college, professional, or even recreational level, athletes accept that there is an inherent risk of injury while participating in sports.

According to the National Federation of State High School Association (NFSHSA) approximately 1.1 million students participate in football nationwide, making it by far the most popular male sport.

Football also displays the highest injury rate with nearly 39 percent of varsity high school football players sustaining an injury each season, accumulating nearly twice as many injuries respectively as in basketball (the second most popular sport).

These statistics, added to recent catastrophic injuries to high profile athletes, justifiably lead to increased concern from many parents of youth athletes.

However high the risks of injury in the sport of football, it can be said that there are inherent risks in many things in life, from playing a sport to skateboarding to riding in a car.

In fact, young people are at a higher risk for injuring their spinal cord by simply stepping into a car each morning. Of the nearly 8,000 diagnosed non-fatal spinal cord injuries each year, almost half result from a motor vehicle accident. Additionally, acts of violence (24 percent) and falls (22 percent) rank above sports (8 percent) when it comes to risk of spinal cord injury.

The incidence of these types of injuries hasn’t eclipsed the Saratoga region. Many will remember Skidmore College student Josh Basile, who became paralyzed from the shoulders down in 2004 after being swallowed by the undertow at Bethany Beach in Delaware.

Just two weeks ago, 14-year-old Connor LaFrance of Saratoga died tragically in a fatal motorcycle accident in Alabama while practicing for an upcoming dirt bike race.

Minor sprains and strains are somewhat commonplace, however it is the rare catastrophic injury, similar to Everett’s, that make us question why many choose to play contact sports such as football.

Despite these concerns, it is promising to note that the rate of cervical spinal cord injuries in high school and college has decreased over the last several decades (according to the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research). With improved safety efforts and updated rules and regulations, football players have a high likelihood of participating in the sport without sustaining a severe catastrophic injury.

So many of us enjoy sports as spectators and take part in athletics on the field, accepting the inherent risks involved. These risks are no different than risks we take each day, whether it’s driving to work or smoking a cigarette.

Avoiding a behavior may not be the best answer to staying safe. Life must go on and we must continue to drive to work and enjoy sports as they were meant to be enjoyed.

In the meantime, we can practice safety in all aspects of our lives, be thankful for the health we possess, and most importantly keep those that have suffered catastrophic injuries in our thoughts and prayers.