Photographer apologizes for hurting Oklahoma player with camera gear
Tulsa World photographer Mike Simons feels bad for causing injury to an Oklahoma player in the Sooners' 31-30 loss to Kansas State on Saturday.
Wide receiver Sterling Shepard caught a pass with full momentum going into the corner of the end zone. Unfortunately, he fell forward, landing on Simons's equipment, priced at more than $10,000.
Shepard left the game in obvious pain, but returned to play later on.
Simons felt so terrible, he took out a news block in the Tulsa World to express his most sincere apology.
I have been shooting football on the sidelines just about every weekend for 26 years.
I have shot every level of this sport, from pee-wee to NFL and everything in between. There have been close calls, but I can say that in those 26 years I have never been hit by a player.
On Saturday while photographing Oklahoma’s game against Kansas State, my luck ran out. I’m sure that if you care anything about OU football, you’ve seen the clip. Sterling Shepard went up for a pass in the corner of the end zone.
When he landed, he fell into me and came down on my Canon 400mm F 2.8 lens. Shepard was hurt. He let me know it while he writhed in pain. For that, I would like to apologize that our paths crossed. I felt horrible and still feel very bad about that. I was relieved when he came out and played in the second half.
Some comments have been made about camera gear lying by my side. I have always felt that flat on the ground is the safest place for gear that isn’t being used at that particular moment. It is where most photographers keep their gear. It allows me to move out of a player’s way quickly. And there are no monopods (the metal poles on the bottom of our cameras) sticking up needlessly. It has worked perfectly for 26 years. On Saturday, while lined up with dozens of other photographers in the designated photo area, it didn’t.
The carnage from my end of this incident was that a Canon 400mm F 2.8 lens was broken in half. The lens sells for $10,499. It's a lot of money, but nothing in comparison to a player’s safety. I feel lucky to have escaped the incident unhurt.
In the past, I have joked about how much fun it seems to be a part of a viral video. I can say now that it isn’t as much fun as it seems.
There is a reason I am behind a camera. I don’t really like attention. Having 80,000 people look at you at the same time isn’t very fun unless, I imagine, you are making a big play.
There are two things that I tell my children are the most important things in life:
1) When you cause anyone pain, in any way no matter who’s fault, apologize.
2) Be able to laugh at yourself. The past few days, I have had the opportunity to put my money where my mouth is. I have laughed a lot at the clip.
And to Mr. Shepard, I say sorry.