After a whirlwind of a month, Trent Brown was released from the hospital Monday. He had an adverse reaction after air seeped into his bloodstream while an I.V. was being administered before the Raiders Sunday game against Cleveland.
Brown tested positive for COVID-19 two weeks ago and has been out through that span. Sunday, he was slated to play his first game since his COVID-19 diagnosis.
It’s unclear why Brown needed the I.V. in the first place and if his COVID-19 diagnosis resulted in any related impairment, but the optics don’t look good.
Brown, a 27-year-old Pro Bowl right tackle, is in his second season with the Raiders. He is over 380 lbs, which makes him particularly vulnerable when it comes to this virus.
The fact that this hasn’t been a bigger story than it is shows that we’ve all become desensitized to what is going on. Mass casualties and sickness is acceptable, as long as football can still be played.
Brown could have lost his life to this virus, but that is of no concern to the league. His condition Sunday was categorized as an air embolism. According to Medical News Today, that’s when bubbles of gas are trapped within the blood vessels. At some point, the bubbles will cut off blood supply to a particular area of the body.
This can result in those bubbles entering major organs like the brain, heart, or lungs, causing a heart attack or stroke.
“I’m very glad to report he’s up and seems to be doing well,” Jon Gruden told reporters Monday. “We’re waiting for the results of some of the extensive tests he did today and yesterday.
“I don’t have anything to report other than he had an issue. I want to really thank our medical staff. What a job they did in an emergency situation. We’re just happy he’s up and around. Once we get the official word as to what’s wrong with Trent, we’ll let you know.”
Brown has had a rough few weeks, and this all could have been prevented. We can not forget these many life-threatening situations were piled onto Brown by the NFL.