Denver Broncos star Aaron Patrick is suing the NFL, ESPN, the Los Angeles Chargers and Rams as well as SoFi Stadium and other entities after he tore his ACL back in Week 6.
Injuries are fairly common in the NFL but the most frustrating - and often worst examples - come from no contact. On Monday Night Football during the Broncos’ 19-16 overtime defeat to the Chargers, Patrick was the unfortunate recipient of such an injury.
The linebacker suffered the injury after he went off the field after an attempt to tackle Chargers punt returner DeAndre Carter and stepped on a carpet covering wires connected to devices crucial for the game’s broadcast at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. Patrick is furious and has filed legal action against a number of entities deemed responsible.
According to The Athletic, Patrick has filed a lawsuit against the NFL, the Chargers, the Rams, SoFi Stadium, and ESPN as well as other bodies. The Chargers were the home team the night of the incident, the Rams are the owners of SoFi Stadium, and ESPN was broadcasting the event.
Patrick alleges that organising negligence led to a ‘dangerous’ sideline condition that ultimately caused his injury. The suit reportedly seeks unspecified damages, as well as lost wages and relief from ‘pain and suffering and emotional distress’.
“Player safety should be the foremost of importance to the NFL and its owners,” Patrick's attorney, William M. Berman said in a statement. “The NFL is a multi-billion-dollar sports enterprise and business, and it needs to do everything possible to protect its players from non-contact game injuries.
“As for Patrick's injuries, Sofi Stadium was built at a $5,000,000,000 expense; the stadium should have the state-of-the-art equipment to protect for player safety, and not use the type of $100 mats that you would expect to see in a restaurant kitchen.”
Patrick’s agent Lamont Smith had reportedly contacted NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero to comment on the frustrating nature of the injury, writing: “I was very disturbed about the way the injury occurred with the carpet being on the sideline like that. His cleat got lodged in the carpet trying to avoid the media person.”
Patrick was in his second season with the Broncos following two years on the Jacksonville Jaguars after going undrafted in 2020. The 25-year-old has played 17 games - including one start - for Denver, recording 11 combined tackles.
