With only a few seconds left on the clock at last October’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers football game against the Atlanta Falcons, Bob Ali-Carr, a volunteer security guard working the game, started to imagine the steak and lobster dinner he planned to eat later that evening.
With his eyes on the crowd and his back to the end zone, the Florida Highway Patrol Auxiliary trooper glanced one final time at the game clock before the last play — a Hail Mary pass — sent players from both teams barreling in his direction.
“I recall looking at (the clock),” said Ali-Carr. “And that’s the last thing I remember about what I saw, and then I got hit.”
Ali-Carr, then 78, was standing just a few feet from the Buccaneers’ end zone when players from both teams slammed into his back, buckling his knees and forcing him face-first into the grass.
When he tried to get up with the assistance of Falcons player Mike Hughes, he couldn’t walk.
“I just put my foot down, and there was excruciating pain, and I knew something was wrong,” he said.
Ali-Carr said his ankle was fractured and his ligaments were torn so significantly, doctors had to put screws, pins, and a plate in his leg during a series of surgeries.
He never got that steak and lobster dinner.
Instead, he said he would lie in bed for about two months.
“It was very frustrating, really, because I couldn’t do what I could normally do (like walking and house chores),” he said. “They say, ‘yeah, you’ll be normal in about a year,’ but I’m not really sure what they mean (by) normal.”
Dozens of hits involving coaches, workers, and players
An exclusive Scripps News analysis of all 284 NFL games this 2024-2025 season found sideline collisions happen regularly at NFL games.
The NFL would not allow Scripps News to license video of these incidents for this investigation, so television footage is not included in this piece.
While most hits did not appear to be as severe as Ali-Carr's, a Scripps News review of video footage found at least 87 times when someone who was working or standing on the sidelines was physically knocked off their feet during a collision with an NFL player who was moving out of bounds.
At least five this season appeared to be so significant they involved blood or broken bones.
In September, Charlie Bullen, the outside linebackers coach for the New York Giants broke his leg during a collision, and the next month, a New England Patriots offensive line coach, Scott Peters, broke his nose and tooth when a Miami Dolphins’ cornerback plowed into him.
During a September matchup between the Eagles and Buccaneers, a player knocked down a chain crew member in a collision shown in slow motion during the broadcast. A television announcer said the man appeared to have blood on his face.
Weeks later, a sideline worker, Brian Robb, broke his leg after the Tennessee Titans quarterback, Will Levis, ran into him during a game in Nashville.
During a later press conference, Levis told reporters he didn’t initially know the sideline official was hurt but eventually texted Robb to wish him a speedy recovery.
“I didn’t even know it happened until after the game,” he said. “I obviously reached for the first down ... I pop up and I’m ready for third down, I don’t know what happened behind me.”
Sideline safety has been a concern for years
Sideline safety has long been an important issue for the NFL Players Association, the union representing NFL players.
In 2022, JC Tretter, the union’s then-president, called upon the NFL to take up some “actionable items” related to player safety in an online message posted on the union’s website.
“Clear the excess people and dangerous equipment from the sidelines,” his message said. “We have seen too many injuries because of this issue, and it really should be a simple fix. Give the players their space to perform. Year after year, the NFL tells us they will look into it; and year after year, nothing ever changes.”
That same year, Aaron Patrick, a former Denver Broncos team member, filed a lawsuit against the NFL after he tore his ACL during an out-of-bounds collision in a game against the Los Angeles Chargers. His shoe got stuck in equipment used for the TV production while he was trying to avoid slamming into a sideline official.
In the suit, Patrick alleged the league and others had been negligent by creating “dangerous” conditions and “failing to ensure player safety.”
The NFL successfully argued for the federal court claims to be dismissed due to Patrick’s player’s union agreement.
Retired players react
“It’s very crowded,” said Wade Manning, a retired NFL player who serves as the president of the Rocky Mountain chapter of the NFL Alumni Association. Manning said he currently works on the sidelines as a uniform inspector, making sure players’ uniforms are in compliance with the NFL standards.
“You will never catch me with my back to the field, not paying attention,” he said. “When they snap that ball, I’m watching because I know how quickly they can get out of bounds. If you take it for granted, you can get run over,” he said.
Scripps News’ investigation found at least three incidents during the 2024 season in which security officers, including Ali-Carr, were struck during games while their backs were to the game.
Ali-Carr said he was instructed to stand with his back to the field to watch the crowd and spot any potential disturbances, such as fans throwing things or running onto the field.
Manning suggested it might be helpful for security officers to attend a practice to learn how fast players can move out of bounds.
“How do you protect yourself when you don’t know?” he said.
Players aren’t able to clearly see what they’re about to hit either, he said. “All you see is flashes of color,” he said. As a player, “you’re dodging bullets and arrows coming at you...You only see opposite color because it’s like an extended blurred line. Everything is fast.”
Scripps News tracked at least 13 collisions that involved members of the NFL chain gang, and at least 20 hits involving photographers.
Past hits
In previous years, other serious collisions have been caught on camera.
In 2023, a New Orleans Saints chain crew member, Nick Piazza, dislocated his knee during a collision.
In 2022, a Washington tight end, Ricky Seals-Jones, ran into a sideline photographer and left the field on a backboard after injuring his neck.
Manning said the sidelines could be safer if the number of people who were allowed to be there was reduced.
“You should cut the numbers down on how many people are on the sideline, and if you have to put that yellow checked line even further back, put it further back,” he said, referring to a line on the field behind which some personnel are expected to stand while they’re working on the sidelines.
The League’s Response
Scripps News asked the NFL to clarify the rules about that line and where people are permitted to stand on the sidelines, but it did not respond to the question.
Scripps News also asked if the NFL keeps track of the number of sideline collisions that occur during games but did not receive a response to that question.
A spokesperson for the NFL also declined an on-camera interview with Scripps News but provided a written statement:
The league is committed to making sure everyone involved in an NFL game is as safe as possible.
Today, the number of personnel on sidelines remains at COVID-era lows, when the league dramatically limited permitted staff and media.
Field access must be approved in advance by the NFL and compliance with league policy, including adherence to field markings that limit movements, is mandatory.
In the rare instance personnel violate the policy, they are no longer permitted to work on the sidelines.
Those with roles near the field are also reminded to stay aware of the game action which can sometimes spill over.
NFL Players Association Response
The NFL Players Association told Scripps News it disagreed with the NFL’s assessment that the number of people permitted on the sidelines is the same as what it was during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The players’ perspective and experience is certainly not that sidelines are at Covid-era lows or clear of non-essential equipment and personnel. But we welcome a constructive dialogue with the league because it seems we are not seeing issues on the sideline the same way,” the association said in a statement.
Scripps News asked the NFL if it had any numbers or data that would show the number of people permitted to be on the sidelines each season, but the league did not respond to the question.
Returning to the game
Ali-Carr is back on his feet now. Although his mobility is not yet back to what it was before his collision, he said he might try to go back to work as a volunteer.
Next time, he’ll try to stand behind the goalpost for protection, he said.
“I would like to do maybe one more game at least,” he said, smiling.
Ali-Carr said he had been working at games periodically since 2012, and he enjoys helping fans get great photos.
“I’m a people person,” he said. “Unlike a lot of the security guys who just do their job and watch, I’m up there saying hi to the people and taking their camera and getting them a shot from down below,” he said. “It’s a lot of fun.”
After his incident, both teams sent Ali-Carr hats and sweatshirts with messages wishing him well.
Mike Hughes, an Atlanta Falcons player who did not collide with Ali-Carr but helped him get up after his injury, made Hughes a special video.
“I just want to say thank you for everything you do and wanted to wish you a healthy recovery in your rehab, and I hope you attack it every day, and I just wanted to say get well soon,” Hughes said in the video.
“I really appreciate the players coming immediately, responding to my injury there and offering their concerns for what has happened,” Ali-Carr said.
He said the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback, Baker Mayfield, also sent him a video as well as an autographed helmet.
“They’ve all been very, very helpful and supportive,” he said.
