Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier suffered a brutal spinal injury against the Cincinnati Bengals on Dec. 4 and was rushed to the hospital. A month later, Shazier’s dad said his son had feeling in his legs, and last week, the linebacker was finally discharged from the hospital.
On Tuesday night, Shazier attended the Pittsburgh Penguins’ home game against the Vegas Golden Knights, and received a standing ovation. The crowd especially went wild when Shazier stood up himself to show his appreciation for their support.
This is awesome:
A well-deserved STANDING ovation for this guy.
Welcome to the game, @RyanShazier! ? pic.twitter.com/IhBscrsXTT
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) February 7, 2018
Ryan Shazier in the house … and standing: pic.twitter.com/3jgk1X4rgc
— Jason Mackey (@JMackeyPG) February 7, 2018
Ryan Shazier is here and, during standing ovation, stands up and waves to crowd. What a moment.
— Josh Yohe (@JoshYohe_PGH) February 7, 2018
It was a major moment in Shazier’s recovery and the first video visual sign of standing we’ve seen from the linebacker. This wasn’t the only good news that came out for Shazier this week either.
Over the past week, reports had emerged that Shazier was walking on his own and doing extremely well. While many hoped that was true, it wasn’t 100% truthful.
That ultimately led to NBC’s Michele Tafoya having to report the truth on Super Bowl Sunday. While it wasn’t the best news one could hope for, it was great news in the grand scheme of things when looking back on the injury.
@steelers @RyanShazier @SNFonNBC #NFL pic.twitter.com/kahYCRiPGD
— Michele Tafoya (@Michele_Tafoya) February 4, 2018
Shazier went on to confirm Tafoya’s reporting on his own feed.
? correct https://t.co/aQFwl3M02m
— Ryan Shazier (@RyanShazier) February 5, 2018
Regardless, standing is standing and any form of walking, whether it’s assisted or not, is great news after that rough hit.
Here’s to many more reports of good news and more public displays of appreciation for the linebacker in the future.