I liked Notre Dame a lot better when their ineptitude was limited to losing football games, but this is pretty GD tragic: a 20-year-old member of the Notre Dame football program’s video team died in a fall after a scissor lift he was standing in was toppled by high-speed winds. And one could argue that the kid, who was in the tower filming Wednesday’s football practice, saw it coming, as evidenced on Twitter.
In the first [of two Twitter posts], Declan Sullivan, who was perched on a scissor lift to film a Fighting Irish football practice, made a dark joke predicting his horrific fate.
“Gusts of wind up to 60 mph. Well today will be fun at work. I guess I’ve lived long enough,” Sullivan wrote at 3:22 p.m., just as practice was getting started, CBS reported.
More than 40-minutes later, the 20-year-old junior from Long Grove, Ill., was frozen with fear as wind-gusts approached 50 mph.
“Holy [f-ck]. Holy [f-ck]. This is terrifying,” Declan wrote. –NY Post.
Less than an hour later, Sullivan would fall from that tower. Sad. Deadspin has more on how Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly not only was adamant about having practice outdoors in the wind, but also that the team stayed out for 25 minutes after Sullivan’s fall. I don’t see how anyone in their right mind could have asked that kid to go up 50 feet in the air in the middle of a windstorm. I really didn’t think I could be more annoyed or angered with Kelly than I was when he left Cincinnati. I was wrong.
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Here, Here, This looks like a job for Captain Hindsight
At no point the thought “Wait a minute, this is America. I don’t have to put myself in danger for the job,” went through this kid’s head?
^starving to death with a 15% unempolyment rate might have went through his head too.
^
Had they fired him for not putting his life in danger the next thing going through his head would probably be the settlement money he was about to swim in.
So fucking sad. Would not taping practice for one day or practicing indoors make a difference in ND winning or losing on Saturday? I think not.
Fortunately, Digger Phelps is an undertaker’s son.
As a safety professional and one who has extensive knowledge of aerial lifts, criminal liability can be levied against one or more people in this instance.
C’mon, cut coach Kelly some slack people. Do you all not realize that ND has to play Tulsa in just 48 hrs.!?!? When you’re going to face a gridiron juggernaut like the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes you simply can’t afford to let up in practice!
@walter +1. I’ve spent my fair share of time in those things. @shan – it’s one thing to make digger phelps jokes about this it’s another to make an idiotic comment like yours. This kid probably had a dream of videotaping NFL games, there are probably 50 tech geeks at ND that would kill for his job, and at 20, he’s really gonna say no? Go back under your bridge, troll.
i actually have the same position as this kid. we get high winds all the time and we always think our towers are going to come down and were gonna die. dont know how many texts ive sent out saying the same things he said.
part of being a videographer is shooting through all conditions but no way should he have been in a scissor lift. those are rated for 24mph winds. and even feel shaky when there is no wind.
poor guy.
@ dave.
walter is right, safety was not a concern and there should have been someone to tell him to come down. they could have shot practice inside anyway. our boss looks out for us here but apparently they didnt give a shit about this kid
you know you’re a real piece of shit when even after a kid falls to his death, you continue practice.
Another reason as to why I hate ND.
@Dave
I’m not being a troll, and I never said a bad thing about the guy. He was obviously scared of what was going on. He should not have stayed up there if it was so bad that he would tweet something like that. This story is sickening and it is something that should never have happened. He should have said no, he had the power to say no, and I wish he would have. Now that this is all straightened out, you can continue your douchey troll search elsewhere.
Where’s your Touchdown Jesus now?
@ Shan
You really think a 20-year old, cutting his teeth with a position like this, is really going to say “No, It’s too dangerous today.” Of course not. He probably did not want to risk losing his position within the Notre Dame Athletic Dept. There are people higher up than him who failed (BIG TIME) to make the smart decision. Such a preventable and sad incident.
Christ, you people are crazy. I’m not alleviating anybody of any blame that could be laid on them. All I said is that I wish he would have used his right to refuse to do something that would have endangered his life. I don’t care how eager you think a kid in that position would be, it’s not worth his life, plain and simple.
@shan – you implied that he didn’t have the common sense to have that thought. Probably (ok, definitely) a flamey post on my part, but having spent 15 years in an industry where people who work for me go up into scary high places (and having done it myself) I know that your post should have been directed at his boss, not him. I can’t tell you how many times at a morning safety meeting I’ve told the guys “getting you home tonight is more important than finishing this project” and in the afternoon I find some guy standing on one foot, tip-toe on a ladder reaching for a bolt. It was up to me to tell him he had better reconsider what I, as his boss thought was important.
/which is actually “Jeez, that’s a nice a$$ on Shan’s icon”
Internet misunderstandings blow ass.
/supertangas rocks
i played in a dome. suck it outdoor conditions.
also if you guys have ever seen practice or game film it’s way better than what they show on tv. I wish they showed games that way. someone should use this tragedy to make that change.
\please don’t yell at me for being insensitive. i’m intoxicated.
\\i’m not really being insensitive. i’m just saying game film is better
\\\ +1 TSM and shan’s picture of an ass
is anyone going to call this kid a dumb fuck for parasailing without a sail?
also, RUUUUUDY!
They didn’t continue practice
Very tragic. Here’s hoping that he gets tons of slutty college catholic school girls in the afterlife.
How dare these people say such horrible things. This boy has lost his life – they never should have had practice outside in the horrible conditions or had this boy videotape their unimportant practice. Who is in charge of using brains when the coaches obviously are not? I cannot believe the game went on today. Shame on the school for having the game. Awful. and how dare they continue practice. All should have left immediately to get inside or to help out. We will keep this boy in our prayers and pray for his family. He looked so joyful in his photo – it breaks our heart. I hope all see they must protect their own lives because the elders in a situation may not be capable of looking after them. I hope my children will learn from this as well as others.