Richard Collier- Everyone Please Read

slickj101 · Dec 2, 2008

When the bullets came at the Jacksonville Jaguars’ offensive lineman, he tried to get low. That’s where his instincts led him; he didn’t really know what to do. He wondered whether his friend and teammate Kenny Pettway was OK.

And he didn’t feel any pain.

"I remember everything," Collier said Monday afternoon in his first interview since he sustained 14 gunshot wounds following a night out on the town with Pettway on Sept. 2. "I just remember the whole incident. It plays back in my mind all the time. Try to come up with these scenarios, if I did this, if I did that."

In October, police arrested Tyrone Hartsfield, a 32-year-old man they believe shot Collier in retaliation for a fight with Collier in April. Hartsfield is scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 11. He entered a plea of not guilty through his attorney, public defender Ann Finnell.

On the advice of his lawyers, Collier declined to comment on Hartsfield or give more details about what happened that night.

But he did talk about what he went through. As the ambulance sped toward Shands Jacksonville Medical Center before 3 a.m., Collier had no idea he’d been hit. He thought he’d dodged the bullets. The paramedics counted the wounds. That’s how Collier learned he’d been shot.

These days, Collier spends his days working to move his body past some of the havoc those bullets wreaked.

When he awoke in the hospital, Collier felt a strange tingle in his legs. He ignored that. He figured he'd be back at football in a couple of weeks.

A day later, still unaware of his paralysis, he told his sister, Rendi, he wanted to move around.

"I've been lying in this bed all day," Collier told her. "Why don't you help me get up and scoot around the bed."

Rendi started crying, then told her little brother the news. He was devastated.

He does rehab almost every day, sometimes twice a day. But that won’t fix everything. He is paralyzed below the waist, and doctors amputated his left leg, which one of the bullets hit.

But mentally and physically, he gets better all the time.

"Everything happens for a reason," Collier said. "I don’t know my purpose in life yet, but I just know that this didn’t happen for no reason."

"I've always been told I was a strong person," Collier said. "I think I never really paid attention to it. I realized now how much strength I really have, how much patience I have.

"I've realized there's so much more to me than playing football."
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Sentinel Exclusive: Paralyzed Jaguars lineman Richard Collier endures tough road -- OrlandoSentinel.com

I would love to find an e-mail address or place that we could send a letter to on behalf of our community. I've been looking but haven't been able to find one yet.

This just seems like such a tragedy and a horrible story that it's hard to even read about what he has to say. However, his attitude and mental state going through all of this bull**** (bc thats what it is), is remarkable.

He really is an inspiration and it makes me feel thankful everyday for what I have and really makes you appreciate even the simplest things that we take for granted.

If anyone has any info on an e-mail address or any way to reach him it would be greatly appreciated.

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