Justice for Gargiulo – Not

"Better a broken bone than a broken spirit - Justice for Gargiulo!"
– Signature of Calgary Stampeders blog poster

Tough news out of Calgary where former Dartmouth great Anthony Gargiulo '06 was placed on the "retired list," although he's still hoping to return from a potentially career-ending injury according to this story carried by CBCSports.

A two-time member of the All-Ivy first team, Gargiulo terrorized quarterbacks while at Dartmouth with remarkable running ability and agility for a defensive end. He played part of one season north of the border before having his pro football dream possibly ended last Nov. 3 on a controversial play involving offensive lineman Jason Jiminez of the BC Lions. Carefully consider what CBC commentator Elliotte Friedman wrote about the play (italics are mine):

I sent a link of the clip to Chris Walby, Khari Jones, Daved Benefield, Greg Frers and A.J. Gass - the five former players who worked on our show last weekend. Walby, arguably the greatest lineman ever to play in the CFL, called it maybe the dirtiest play he’d ever seen. Jones and Benefield thought it was brutal. Frers and Gass watched it with me in my Regina hotel room, and you had to see the look on their faces. They were shocked. (And, as many readers have pointed out, if Gass is shocked, it’s pretty bad.)

Jiminez was initially suspended for one game – one game – before the suspension was overruled. Gargiulo, meanwhile, is facing the possible (perhaps likely) end of his career.

The Stampeders forum has been hopping with postings about the incident and Gargiulo himself has responded. In this following posting, Gargiulo explains the extent of his injury:

There was no damage to my achilles, which is very fortunate. Because of the nature of the break, a nearly 4 inch long (or that's how long it looks to me in the x-rays) chunk of my fibula was broken off (I believe it's known as a comminuted or 'butterfly' fracture... the shape of the piece broken off gives it that name) and there were several other fractures along that bone. This 'butterfly' fracture was itself in a few pieces so the doctors inserted a long plate to piece the whole deal back together. There was some shortening of the fibula as a result of the injury, which has hopefully been repaired by 2 screws running across the horizontal length of tibia and fibula where they intersect at the ankle. 6 smaller screws hold the plate and the bone fragments in place.

The hope is that the tibia and fibula will heal back into their natural alignment, as any sort of shortening or separation could lead to big problems down the road.

There was also quite a bit of ligament damage as the back of my heel folded up and nearly touched the back of my calf (quite a strange feeling and one that I'll never forget). For this to happen without my tibia fracturing the same way my fibula did, a lot of things had to give way in my ankle (the tibia is bigger than the fibula and much stronger... so the fibula gave out to the pressure while the tibia didn't, so soft tissue in the ankle did instead). There was also damage to a few tendons in the ankle, although I could never list all the medical names for them.

Gargiulo followed that posting up this winter with an update on his condition and a few thoughts about the player who caused it:

I had my cast off just before the holidays and was in a walking boot until the 3rd week of January. Things were going pretty well and I was finally able to walk without pain by the time the walking boot came off. Walking without the boot (as per the doctor's orders) caused 2 of the screws in my leg to break, however. Think of what happens when you bend a paperclip back and forth too many times... eventually it just snaps.

So with the screws broken the doctor bumped up the removal of said hardware (apparently it's not that big of a deal they broke, although it did make for a more difficult removal). I had those 2 screws taken out on 2/5 in NYC. The whole procedure took about an hour and involved more carpentry tools than medical tools from what I remember (hammers, drills, screwdrivers etc). Due to the fact that they had to dig into the bone to get out 2 of the broken halves, I am back on crutches now until my next doc's appointment this Thursday the 14th.

The remaining screws and the plate will stay in my leg until my career is over, whenever that may be. The doctor has yet to commit to a date when I can start running, but said it should be some time around mid-March to April if everything goes well.

The league just contacted me last week and informed me that I have to fly back up to Canada to testify in yet ANOTHER hearing for Jimenez. I'm glad the CFLPA is doing such a great job of protecting him... I just wish they'd do something for me too as I'm going on my 4th month laid up down here in constant pain and frustration. I can't believe the process is still going on with all the eye-witness evidence and the bit that was caught on the edge of the film (not to mention the previous clips of him attempting the same kind of maneuver which ARE caught fully on film). It's rather sad really that there has been no conclusion and certainly no kind of justice. I am not looking forward to traveling back up North just to sit there and hear Jimenez lie through his teeth again while I sit with my leg up on a chair to reduce swelling. It might piss some people off that I'm saying such things on here, but too bad... I don't feel I owe anyone the courtesy of censoring myself at this point after what has/hasn't been done to/for me. I'm not the type to complain, but I still can't walk and who knows if I can run again... only time will tell.

Green Alert Take: Anthony Gargiulo is one of the real good people to come through the Dartmouth program. If you knew him at all, you were rooting for him to make it in pro football. Now a lot of people who never met him are rooting hard for him and they should be. If you visit those forums you'll see an amazing outpouring of support for him.

***

The news out of Florida regarding former Cornell great Tom McHale has only gotten sadder. The onetime Tampa Bay Bucs lineman died at age 45 after apparently taking Xanax pills and using cocaine according to this story.

Longtime Dartmouth baseball coach Bob Whalen has been chosen the New England Coach of the Year by the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association. Whalen guided the Big Green to the Red Rolfe Division championship and the No. 1 ranking in the region. Find a Dartmouth release here. ... The coach's son, meanwhile, was the winning pitcher last night in relief as he helped the Little League team I'm again helping coach to an extra-inning victory over our in-town rival. Volunteering to umpire the game and doing a terrific job: a couple of Dartmouth players.

And finally, that certain Hanover High sophomore's softball season ended last night with a 19-1 loss (ouch). She scored the only run although that was little consolation. For the second year in a row, she played every inning of the season, this year as catcher. Next on tap for her: running Sunday in the tremendously popular Covered Bridges Half Marathon in Vermont. The race field of 2,300 runners was filled last winter in 82 minutes! ... That certain Hanover High 8th grader, meanwhile, continues to lash the ball for his baseball team with a line single over the pitcher's head yesterday and a walk in his two trips to the plate.