Whenever a player is carted off the field, there’s discussion of how potentially serious an injury to them might be. But a carting off isn’t always indicative of a massive injury. The latest cast in point there comes from Seattle Seahawks‘ receiver DK Metcalf. Metcalf was carted off during the Seahawks’ game Sunday against the Detroit Lions (which they eventually won 48-45). But it was later revealed that wasn’t about anything gravely concerning, but rather a bathroom issue:
Per the FOX broadcast, D.K. Metcalf was actually carted off to the locker room for a bathroom break.
When you gotta go, you gotta go. https://t.co/CwHODkb4sx
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) October 2, 2022
Per @JenHale504, Metcalf was carted off for a bathroom break. https://t.co/o5oZ9KYxFp
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) October 2, 2022
As Uproxx’s Robby Kalland noted, this led to a lot of people making references to Paul Pierce. Pierce infamously was taken off in a wheelchair in Game 1 of the 2008 NBA Finals, only to return shortly afterwards. He later suggested that was for a bathroom break, but then insisted he was joking. But there are still many people who bring him up around anything like this:
DK Metcalf pic.twitter.com/qOafPtUxic
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) October 2, 2022
the Paul Pierce! https://t.co/jBAZWCEWdU
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) October 2, 2022
💩 DK Metcalf 🤝 Paul Pierce 💩 pic.twitter.com/nsN2gDOx0B
— L Sports Live (@lsports_live) October 2, 2022
He pulled a Paul Pierce https://t.co/sma5eEwWux pic.twitter.com/r6j01zmoRr
— lil_noe (@Noenater) October 2, 2022
Paul Pierce is the most influential athlete of our generation https://t.co/OyyIvr8nlV
— jac Doyle 🎰📋 (@jac4td) October 2, 2022
At the very least, it’s funny that Pierce is still being referenced for this more than a decade after the example around him took place. And it’s certainly interesting that the “injury” here to Metcalf (seen above in a Sept. 18 game) led to the same sort of discussion. The sports world appears to be very concerned with athletes’ bodily functions and trips to the restrooms, and this is just the latest example of that.
[Field Yates on Twitter; photo from Kyle Terada/USA Today Sports]
About Andrew Bucholtz
Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.