In the hours after we learned Baltimore Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs had torn his Achilles' tendon, ESPN reported that the injury occurred while he was playing basketball. Suggs and his agent immediately and repeatedly rejected that notion.
The issue was mostly forgotten, and the Ravens apparently won't go after any of Suggs' money. ESPN, however, doubled down on its report Tuesday.
The network spoke to a number of eyewitnesses and staff members of a Glendale, Ariz., gym, where Suggs participated in a three-day basketball tournament. Herman Hoffman, the director of the gym, told ESPN that his staff members saw Suggs injure himself while playing basketball.
"I was watching SportsCenter, and they said he did it during a conditioning test, and I said, 'What? What's going on here?' " staff member Adam Bowman said. "And then to lie about it ... "
Suggs was contacted by ESPN and stuck by his story.
"Simply not true. I hurt myself doing my conditioning test," Suggs told the network through his agent.
According to the report, witnesses saw Suggs get into a collision and take a bad step, possibly on someone's foot.
Ultimately, the nature of Suggs' injury doesn't make a difference if the Ravens don't want to go after his money. The team hasn't shown any inclination to do so.
