Many people know the name Adam Taliaferro.
Few know the name Sarah Scott.
While Taliaferro, a former Penn State football player, is a hero to many, Scott, a former competitive cyclist, lives in relative obscurity.
Taliaferro is a hero because he suffered and overcame a terrible spinal injury on a football field in front of 100,000 people and millions more watching on TV in 2000. It was feared he would be paralyzed for life, but doctors and grueling rehab helped him walk again.
He's now a lawyer and will always be a true inspiration.
Scott, meanwhile, is paralyzed. And always will be.
Her injuries from a crash in the 2005 Tour de 'Toona were not caught on film, and barely anyone even saw it happen.
Scott's spinal injuries could not be fixed by doctors, and she likely will be paralyzed from the waist down for the rest of her life.
Try and imagine yourself in Scott's situation. She was a healthy, physically fit young woman who was competing in her favorite sport. Then she crashed, and in an instant, the life she knew was over.
That is incredibly tragic.
And it could happen to anyone playing virtually any sport at any time.
It happened to Sarah Scott, and my heart goes out to her.
It's disappointing in our society that most sports fans barely pay attention to severe injuries suffered by lesser-known athletes like Scott, yet, when it happens to a football player, it's huge national news.
I'm not here to weigh in on the legal decision rendered Friday against Scott. Her case went through our court system, all the facts came out, and we have to entrust that the judges made the best decision they could.
Maybe it was the right decision. Maybe it wasn't. Most of us will never know.
It's sadly ironic, though, that on a day USA Today decided to publish a story about Taliaferro's hard work coming back from his injury, the Mirror had a story about Scott losing a court case.
Taliaferro is able to live a normal life, and that is wonderful.
Sarah Scott will never live a normal life. Her life changed drastically in the blink of an eye.
It's a shame our society often turns a blind eye to injured athletes like her.
Cory Giger can be reached at 949-7031 and cgsports12@aol.com.
