By: Ellen Laws
Virginia Union wide receiver, Donte Gross, was taken off the field on a stretcher in the fourth quarter after being tackled by Gardner-Webb’s Thomas Adams during an incomplete pass. Gross was knocked unconscious from the impact and then taken to the hospital in Charlotte, N.C.
Amanda Taylor, Gardner-Webb senior, was taking sideline photos of Gardner-Webb’s football game when Gross was knocked unconscious. “[Gross] was sandwiched between two of the players who seemed to hit him at the same time. He fell to the ground and began seizing. CPR was performed and he was bleeding from his ear,” said Taylor.
Trey Lucas, Cornerback for Gardner-Webb, said, “I felt very sorry that had to happen. I know football is a very violent game but you never want to see anybody get seriously injured.”
As Gross laid in the middle of the field, a man in the crowd began to pray over him. This man was Gardner-Webb cheerleader Kallie Ingle’s grandfather, Steve Morris.
“I just felt lead by God to stand up, have everyone hold hands and start praying for that young man,” said Morris. “I was very impressed that all the players and the cheerleaders took a knee while they were attending to the young man.”
Taylor was able to take a panoramic video of Morris praying. In the video, you can hear his voice carry with a cry of help from the Lord as and see heads bowed in unison during the prayer. The video was later uploaded to Taylor’s Facebook profile with the caption, “I feel pretty blessed to go to a school where even in the middle of a game we take the time to pray for someone injured on the other team.” Taylor’s video has over 1,000 shares and 92,000 views on Facebook.
On Monday, Marc Rabb, assistant athletic director for media relations, received the following statement from Virginia Union University:
Virginia Union University wide receiver Donte Gross, who was taken to the hospital during VUU’s game with Gardner-Webb, has been released from the hospital in Charlotte, N.C. Virginia Union University Athletics would like to thank all the fans, both from Virginia Union and Gardner-Webb, as well as the Gardner-Webb Football Program, who have inquired about the well-being of this fine student-athlete.
“The fact that young man was brought out of his coma and released from the hospital tells me that prayer works,” said Morris. You can watch the video of Morris leading Spangler Stadium in prayer here.