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USA Rugby has issued a statement of apology regarding the process of investigation used following the catastrophic neck injury suffered by Robert Paylor. The Cal Golden Bears lock was left in a wheelchair following an incident in the 2017 Varsity Cup final against Arkansas State.
Severe criticism has been leveled at the national governing body after their failure to admonish what was clearly an act of foul play. USAR says they will now order an independent review for all such incidents going forward as a matter of policy.
“Over the past three years, USA Rugby’s Board of Directors and National Office have fielded inquiries regarding Robert Paylor’s injury (University of California), issues surrounding a lack of action and an inadequate process around the post-injury investigation and citing. The current USA Rugby Board, alongside several members of the National Office has reviewed USA Rugby’s handling of the catastrophic injury.
“First, on behalf of USA Rugby, we apologize to Robert Paylor and his family for the lack of timely action and an inadequate citing process. We agree that retrospectively, the citing process should have been more transparent, provided more rigorous due diligence and openly communicated to all parties involved.
“As a result of the outcome, USA Rugby determined that all catastrophic injuries will require an immediate, independent panel review for foul play, including but not limited to mandatory interviews and review of video evidence. We must be intensely focused on upholding the laws of the game and player welfare is paramount to our success as a sport.
“The Varsity Cup was a USA Rugby sanctioned event that was organized by a third party. The universities and players, including Robert Paylor, were members of the union in good standing. Robert deserved our organization’s best efforts and the process didn’t meet anyone’s expectations.
Again, on behalf of USA Rugby, we apologize to Robert Paylor and the entire Paylor Family for how the case was handled, as a whole. We are sorry that an incident of this magnitude did not receive the expedient action and transparency it deserved. It resulted in outcomes that were subpar and left Robert and his family confused and frustrated. USA Rugby’s current Board of Directors is taking the proper steps to ensure that corrective actions are in place to prevent any re-occurrence.”
Paylor has now issued his own response to the statement:
“It’s been a long day coming, but progress is finally being made on the citing process of my injury.
“Since Day 1, this investigation was never about me. I broke my neck and I will never play rugby again. However, there are millions of people who do play rugby and these decisions implicate them. It was always my wish to see that USAR took what happened to me as a learning experience to mitigate something like this from happening again. I have had to fight for my life and I have spent the last 1,136 days getting my independence back. I would not wish this injury upon my worst enemy, and it hurt me greatly to see those in power were doing nothing to promote player safety in this incident. It seemed they did not care I was paralyzed in a match or that it could happen to another player. Finally progress is being made to learn from my case and improve player safety.
“I’m still shocked that what happened to me in that maul is not deemed as a red card offense. Anyone who knows anything about rugby knows that it is a terrible penalty to bind someone around the neck and drive them on top of their skull, leading to paralysis. I don’t even know what to say to someone who believes that is acceptable.
“I am grateful to all of those good people who pushed to make this statement and take the steps to improve the way our sport is governed. I pray that this statement leads to continued progress and serves players for years to come.”
Three years on and Paylor continues to make progress in his rehabilitation. In March he took his first steps on Witter Field since the day of the injury.
Helping to cover the cost of his medical bills is a GoFundMe campaign that has now raised $840,000 and remains active. Paylor has also created a personal website to chronicle his recovery and promote a new pursuit in motivational speaking.
