When a player sustains an injury during an NFL game, they are escorted to the medical tent behind the team’s bench for treatment to determine the extent of said injury.
The tent, which is usually covered by a blue canopy, is designed to give the player and team medical personnel a level of privacy while a preliminary examination is conducted.
Last October, in a game between the New York Giants and Green Bay Packers in London, defensive back Darnay Holmes suffered a thigh bruise and was being attended to out in the open by a trainer, who chose not to take Holmes into the tent.
The video and screen shot of Holmes with his uniform pants dropped down exposing his backside immediately went viral.
On a recent appearance on the “2nd Wind Podcast”, Holmes recounted the incident.
“Let me make my a– international,” he joked. “I knew I had a thigh bruise. Once it gets stiff, it’s over with. Your day’s over with. So I’m like ‘I can’t let it get stiff, man, it’s two-minute.’ I’m like, ‘Hey, J [the trainer], I need you to rub on my thigh. But I know this can go south — let’s go to the tent.’ He’s like ‘Nah, y’all ’bout to hit the field, man. Y’all about to hit the field.’ I’m like, ‘It is what it is at this point. Bet.’”
Holmes also had to explain the situation to the Giants’ brass on the plane ride home.
“We win the game, we celebrating, we on the plane…. Our GM [Joe Schoen] and owner [John Mara] come up to me like, ‘so that’s how you get it down?’”
Lesson learned.
We’re sure the Giants — and other teams — will be more wary of their surroundings going forward, as cameras are omnipresent these days.