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Adam Teicher, ESPN Staff WriterSep 13, 2024, 03:35 PM ET
- Covered Chiefs for 20 seasons for Kansas City Star
- Joined ESPN in 2013
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Baltimore Ravens linebacker Kyle Van Noy waited 12 minutes to see an ophthalmologist when he suffered an eye injury during last week’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs because the doctor was seated in the stands and needed time to get to the locker room, Chiefs vice president for sports medicine and performance Rick Burkholder said.
“It’s not mandated in the NFL to have an ophthalmologist or a dentist in the stands,” Burkholder said. “We do that as a courtesy to both teams. … When he went down, I went out there because I thought he had a head or neck injury and I waited for [Ravens medical personnel]. I asked their physician whether they needed an ophthalmologist. They didn’t at the time, they evaluated him and then when they wanted an ophthalmologist, we made the phone call up into the stands and got the ophthalmologist out of the locker room in 12 minutes. So there was a 12-minute time frame when we were alerted to him.”
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Earlier this week, Van Noy criticized the Chiefs’ medical staff for a lack of urgency in treating his fractured orbital bone. An NFL spokesman said Thursday night that the league reviewed the case with the Chiefs’ and Ravens’ medical staffs and “are comfortable he received appropriate care.”
Friday, Van Noy declined to discuss his treatment in Kansas City.
“I obviously have a lot to say about it, but at the same time, there’s no point to continue to go back and forth: ‘You’re right, or I’m right,'” Van Noy said. “I’m just focused on the Raiders [and] excited to potentially play.”
Burkholder said he exchanged texts with Ravens coach John Harbaugh and Baltimore’s medical staff in an effort to dispel any hard feelings.
“I respect Kyle as a player and I’m pretty upset that he was upset,” Burkholder said. “I’m sorry that he was upset and I think we’ve worked it out with the Ravens through Coach [Harbaugh] and I, and both organizations respect the process.”
ESPN’s Jamison Hensley contributed to this report.
