A viper showed great resistance to leaving an American football helmet, prompting police officers to use water to force it out and then contain it in a bag.
In Maumelle, Arkansas, a high school football athlete experienced a great scare when he discovered a venomous snake inside his protective equipment during training.
Full coverage: Latest News (EN)
The young Maumelle High School student noticed a strange sensation inside the accessory after warming up last week and promptly took it to an assistant coach to check. During the inspection, a water snake approximately 2 feet long was located behind the interior padding.
Learn more: Sports scare: athlete finds poisonous snake inside helmet in Arkansas
Due to the viper’s great difficulty in leaving the helmet, police forces were called and used water jets to force it to move out and then contain it in a bag. Shortly afterwards, specialists from the animal control service attended the scene, confirmed that it was a water moccasin, a venomous snake, and transported it to a forested area far from the school.
The water moccasin is known to be the second most venomous snake species found in the state of Arkansas, which highlights the danger of the situation experienced by the athlete.
On the same topic: Helmet threat: poisonous cottonmouth snake appears on player equipment in Maumelle
Chris Davis, director of the animal protection service, commented that the young man wore the helmet for almost an hour and was extraordinarily lucky not to have been injured by a bite.
“It was surreal,” Davis said, expressing the incredulity of the scene. “You had to be there and record it in photos to really believe that it really happened.”
Follow: all about American football
Even after the scare, the player continued training using another helmet. The case led the head coach to reinforce with his team the importance of carefully inspecting all equipment before each use, checking for the presence of insects or something potentially larger and more dangerous.