Football Player Speaks Out After Rival’s Hit Led to Death Threats

Colorado Buffaloes superstar Travis Hunter has spoken out after an illegal hit by Colorado Rams defensive back Henry Blackburn benched Hunter for several weeks. The statement comes after death threats made to Blackburn and his family.

During the first quarter of Saturday’s double-overtime face-off between the Buffaloes and the Rams, Blackburn rattled a defenseless Hunter with a blatantly late hit after an incomplete pass. The star cornerback and wide receiver went down, then briefly returned to the game. After being further evaluated by medical staff, Hunter was sent to a local hospital. Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders later announced that Hunter would likely be out for three weeks, having suffered a lacerated liver (a serious internal injury) in the tackle.

Blackburn was flagged with unnecessary roughness for the hit, but many didn’t find this sufficient. Before Saturday’s game was over, Blackburn’s private phone number, and that of his mother, were widely circulated on the internet. They were deluged with vulgar phone calls, texts, and social media posts, some of them credible death threats. Local police are working to investigate the threats further.

On Monday night, Hunter made his first post-injury statement in an interview with The Bleacher Report. The Buffaloes star seemed to hold no grudge towards Blackburn, despite growing backlash. “It’s football at the end of the day, so that’s why that’s gonna happen,” Hunter veritably shrugged. “I mean, he did what he’s supposed to do. It’s football. Something bad’s gonna happen on the field sooner or later.”

Hunter spoke of his resolve to heal as quickly as possible, telling the outlet he’s going to “get up and fight again. That’s what I try to do.” He credited the doctors on-site for making him curtail his return to the game, as Hunter says he had no idea there was anything wrong. “If there were no doctors I’d still be out there playing,” he admitted. “So I’m thankful for everyone that helped me that day. [It] got me on my way to a speedy recovery.”

You can watch Hunter’s full interview below.