Last week, Chandler Parson was involved in a car wreck. The injuries endured might force the 31-year old forward to retire from professional basketball.
On the evening of January 15, the Atlanta Hawks reported terribly unfortunate news on Twitter.
One of their forwards, Chandler Parsons, was involved in a car accident and was said to have only sustained a concussion and whiplash.
An @emoryhealthcare injury report:
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) January 16, 2020
Chandler Parsons was involved in car accident today. After a medical evaluation at the Emory Sports Medicine Complex, he was diagnosed with a concussion & whiplash. He will enter the NBA’s concussion protocol.
More: https://t.co/ZYst4Puvs1 pic.twitter.com/G2tBPgUqLQ
While the situation and injuries could have been worse, it is still a scary situation for Chandler Parsons, his family, his friends, and any of his fans. Any head injury can have lifelong, unseen side-effects that can completely change who someone is. Luckily, Parsons has a staff of well-equipped doctors and medical professionals at his aide as an NBA player.
Unfortunately, Parsons’ injuries seem to be worse than originally reported.
Yahoo! Sports’ Chris Haynes announced late Monday morning that Parsons has hired lawyers to prosecute the individual who caused the accident. Said individual was under the influence of alcohol and received a DUI. Haynes also shared that Parsons suffered a “disc herniation and torn labrum” and that Parsons’ career might be forced to an end.
Chandler Parsons’ attorney on the condition of his client, says he’s ‘seriously’ injured “and potentially ending Mr. Parsons’ career as a professional athlete.” https://t.co/TtLHWXyz8c
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) January 20, 2020
It’s awful that the recklessness and irresponsibility of someone else might cost Parsons his career.
On a separate note, for the Atlanta Hawks, this means one major thing. Parsons hasn’t been in the rotation for a while now, and his name has made an appearance in a number of trade rumors. Now that he might not play again, it is unlikely that the Hawks trade him anywhere. His contract will likely expire this summer and Parson will be a free agent.
Parsons was acquired by the team in an offseason trade with the Memphis Grizzlies that saw the Atlanta Hawks receive the sharpshooting forward in exchange for Solomon Hill and Miles Plumlee. This move wasn’t expected to have too big of an impact in either teams’ record. For the Hawks, they moved two expiring contracts for another — opening an extra roster spot.
This tragedy is incredibly unfortunate and the thoughts and prayers from millions of NBA fans are with Parsons in this grim time.