The game between Louisville and Duke featured one of the most gruesome injuries in sports history, leaving the television network CBS in a tough position on what to do, as they had to show the injury replay at least once, but quickly decided to pull it.
According to the Associated Press, CBS showed the replay of Kevin Ware breaking his leg as he came down from trying to block a shot twice, then stopped showing footage of it because it was too graphic. The play was similar to the one where Washington Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann broke his leg on national television after a hit by Lawrence Taylor.
Ware was trying to block a shot from Duke's Tyler Thornton and after landing on the ground his leg buckled and broke nearly in half. The television coverage showed the injury, but not close up, the stopped showing it. Teammates nearby went right down to the floor after the injury happened and the coverage showed the medical staff working on Ware while he was on the ground.
"If you can bear to watch it, take a look but it's a gruesome-looking injury," CBS commentator Clark Kellogg said.
CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus said that the graphic nature was the reason why and that next week they do not plan on showing it when Louisville plays again. During halftime the show with Greg Gumbel also did not show the injury and later Louisville won 85-63 after some words from Ware to the team.
"We did not zoom in on the injury when he was taken off," McManus said. "We did not try to highlight it. I think we did the right thing."
Ware underwent surgery and a Louisville spokesman said Ware was "resting comfortably" at Indianapolis' Methodist Hospital.
