Risk Is a Constant in Playing the Game : Pro football: Byrd’s injury serves as a grim reminder that athletes are not as invincible as they like to believe.

Bob Golic dragged himself off the field and collapsed in the back of his parents’ car.

This was nearly two decades ago, in Cleveland.

Golic, now a defensive lineman for the Raiders, was just beginning his football career at St. Joseph’s High School there.

As the car pulled out, Golic, who had taken a beating in the game, was moaning and groaning. His mother, Kate, leaned over from the front seat, concern on her face, and asked if she could give her son something for his pain.

“Nah,” Golic responded from the back. “I just want to lay here for a while and enjoy it.”

Golic’s parents knew they had a football player in the family.

Pain has always been a part of the game. Players can love it, shrug it or merely endure it, but it comes with the territory.

Some players carry blood around on their uniforms as a red badge of courage. They take pride in giving and receiving the biggest hits and snicker at those who hear footsteps and shy away from bone-jarring collisions.

Others live with the violence grudgingly, recognizing it only as a harsh reality of their chosen profession.

But nearly all walk onto the field praying that they will be able to walk off when the day’s work is done.

And when the worst happens, when one of those earth-shattering hits results in a serious injury, players react much the way many motorists do when they come upon a serious accident. The driver slows down, inspects the damage, the injuries and the feverishly working paramedics, reflects on the inherent danger to all drivers and then drives on.

So it is with football injuries. Players see them, feel empathy for the victims, whether teammates or opponents, then buckle up their chin straps and go back to work.

What alternative do they have?

That was the case this week when word went through the league Sunday night of the collision between New York Jet teammates Dennis Byrd and Scott Mersereau. The two met head-on, trying to tackle Kansas City Chief quarterback Dave Krieg.

Byrd suffered a spinal cord injury that has left him partially paralyzed, at least temporarily.

“It’s the frightening aspect of playing pro football,” said Raider defensive lineman Howie Long. “It is a grim reminder that we are not as invincible or as immortal as we would like to believe.

“Pro athletes in general feel as if they have a bubble around them, whether it comes to driving in traffic, in social situations or on the field. We feel as if we can’t be hurt.”

Would something like Sunday’s tragedy affect Long’s actions on the field?

“You can’t think about it,” he said. “You just have to keep your head up on the field when possible and make the tackles.

“Look, I’m not a writer. I’m not a pianist. This is what I do. I can’t do anything else as well to generate the kind of funds I make here.”

Golic subscribes to the theory that the worst injuries occur when players are too conservative on the field.

“When you are trying to avoid injuries, holding back or pulling up short, that’s when the chances for injury are greater,” he said. “If you are more aggressive, I believe you’re more in control of your own body and you’re instinctively more aware of what’s going on around you. There’s the paradox. My father used to tell me that, after the whistle blows, to take three, four or five more steps because somebody may catch you late.”

Byrd’s is not an isolated case. Last year, the Detroit Lions’ Mike Utley suffered an injury that left him paralyzed. In the late 1970s, Darryl Stingley of the New England Patriots suffered a similar type of injury.

In its current issue, Sports Illustrated lists its “Unfortunate 500,” players who have missed at least one game this year because of an injury.

“We know when we line up each day, we’re kind of taking that risk,” said Ram safety Michael Stewart in discussing the Byrd injury. “But it’s something you try not to think about and go out and have it weighing down your mind. You want to go out and just play the game and have fun.

“But there are certain things you can do to try to protect yourself as best as possible. Trying not to get into any head-to-head collisions, or a spearing-type of situation, something like that. . . . But this is a contact sport, so I don’t know if you can get any foolproof type of thing.”

Raider middle linebacker Riki Ellison is philosophical.

“You could get run over by a car, too,” he said. “It’s the nature of the game. It’s why they pay us.”

Raider cornerback Terry McDaniel says he won’t allow himself to think the worst when he’s on the field.

“I can’t go out there and think it might happen to me if I hit somebody,” he said. “If I go out there thinking like that, I won’t be out there for long anyway.”

But that’s not to say players never think about it.

“I’ve played 14 years,” Golic said. “I’ve had broken bones, torn muscles and twisted joints. But head injuries and pinched nerves are what scares the hell out of me. Anything else I can deal with. But if it’s a question of dealing with the head or spine, things that can be life-changing, you wonder whether it’s worth it.

“The repercussions of a limp or a sore shoulder for the rest of your life is one thing. But with the head or spine, you say, ‘What am I doing, damaging myself for life?’ ”

Golic can recall being at the bottom of a pileup, knowing he is hurt, but fearful about trying to move because he might discover he can’t .

David Rocker knows about such injuries all too well. It was Rocker, a Ram defensive tackle, who collided with Utley last season, causing the paralyzing injury. Has Rocker’s involvement in the play caused him to seek counseling?

“The only counseling I have sought was God’s counsel,” Rocker said. “I think one of the strong points that I had was being a true Christian, and I know how to get on my knees and pray about things. And just put it in God’s hands. That’s what I did. And that’s what has kept my mind free from that day to this point.”

He hopes Byrd can find the same peace.

“Hopefully, the guy has some type of religious belief or something stronger than anything here on earth that can overcome that,” Rocker said.

Rocker hasn’t let the Utley incident affect his career.

“It’s a job and you’ve been doing it for so long,” Rocker said. “Since (Pop Warner League), all you could think of is all the fun. No one ever told you, when you were in high school, how serious the injuries could be. . . . Way back in the back of your mind, you may think about it. But it’s not something you go out and think, ‘I hope this isn’t the day that something happens to me.’ ”

Times staff writer Tim Kawakami contributed to this story.