In the hours after reports surfaced that three Southern Miss football players had been shot outside of a Hattiesburg nightclub early Sunday, the news on their health appeared to be good. The wounds they suffered were deemed non-life threatening and all were listed in fair and stable condition.
Unfortunately, the news is not all good as far as one of the players is involved is concerned.
According to WAPT-TV, it appears as though senior linebacker Martez Smith has had no movement below the waist since being wounded in the shooting.
“My son called me and told me he couldn’t move his legs,” said James Smith, Martez Smith’s grandfather.
“Young man, old man like me, I could see, but a young man? That’s tough.”
Smith had not played since suffering an injury Oct. 9 against East Carolina.
Athletic director Richard Giannini and head football coach Larry Fedora, along with many teammates, visited the hospitalized players throughout the day Sunday. The school has given no confirmation to the report on Smith’s paralysis.