Ellie Day Injured at Cavalier's Game

In case you didn't see the NBA game between the Cleveland Cavaliers (that's LeBron James's team) and the Oklahoma City Thunder, there was an accident on the sidelines inside the final four minutes. LeBron James was going for a loose ball and fell into the crowd. He landed on a couple of women and their chairs collapsed; one of the women was caught under him.



When they showed the replay of the accident, you could see Jason Day sitting next to her. The injured woman was Jason's wife Ellie. The paramedics brought in a stretcher, strapped her in and secured her head, but she was apparently alert and talking. That's a good sign.

The TV people didn't realize who she was until the cameras caught Jason leaving right behind the paramedics and stretcher.

It's not unusual for extra folding chairs to be set up courtside. Those are where the VIPS get to sit. Of course, if you take one of those seats, you are RIGHT THERE as close to the action as you can get. Accidents do happen sometimes, but usually they're relatively harmless affairs -- you know, things like fans getting covered in beer and nachos.

In this case, Ellie and Jason were too close. LeBron is 6'8" and around 260 lbs, and this game was really tight. (The Cavs won, 104-100.) Players are going to go after loose balls when the game is that close... and when they do, they often end up in the bleachers. OFTEN. And a lot of those players are as big as LeBron. I don't care who you are, that's gonna hurt.

And while you don't see it in the video above, LeBron came back after the play and spent some time trying to find out how she was. Players usually do come back and check on their fans after the play is over. (I've seen LeBron do that many times.) But again, this sort of collision happens frequently during games and LeBron didn't know how bad this one was at first.

At the time I'm writing this, I don't have any further reports on her condition beyond her being taken to a local hospital for treatment. I got that from ESPN's Cavs reporter Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) and from this post at cleveland.com. According to that post, not only are the Days and the Cavs players good friends but Jason had been helping the Cavs with a promotion during a timeout. It also says that LeBron was "noticeably shaken" by what happened to Ellie, which is to be expected.

According to Windhorst, Jason and Ellie have a home in Columbus and regularly attend Cav games. But I'm guessing they may consider sitting a bit farther from the court once Ellie's healthy enough to attend another game.

LATE UPDATE: Scott Van Pelt on ESPN's midnight show said that, although there weren't many details, he could report that Ellie is apparently going to be okay but they were going to keep her at the hospital overnight for observation. Good news! 

MORNING UPDATE: LeBron told reporters that, after Ellie was on the stretcher, she squeezed his hand and told him she was alright. And the word is that she was released this morning and that she is indeed alright.