By Perry Lefko, Sportsnet.ca
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats player whose violent collision with Edmonton's Jason Tucker left the Eskimos' receiver with a neck injury that required surgery planned to visit him on Sunday.
Defensive back Jykine Bradley has been affected physically, mentally and emotionally by the violent helmet-on-helmet collision he had with Tucker in the third quarter of a game on Friday at Ivor Wynne.
The impact left Bradley with a stinger, which is a numbness or tingling sensation running from the neck down the side of the arm which was exposed in the contact.
Tucker suffered two fractures to his neck and on Sunday underwent season-ending surgery, the team announced Sunday.
"My shoulder is sore, but I've got all the feelings back in my arm, which is a good thing," Bradley told Sportsnet.ca on Sunday, adding it was the most awkward hit he'd ever experienced playing football.
"My heart goes out to his family," he said. "I'm praying for him to have a full recovery.
"At first I didn't know he was down (after the collision). When I hit him, I looked at my arm and I had no feeling. As I was getting the feeling back, I happened to glance at their medical staff and that's when I realized he was down. I didn't know the severity of his injury. Then when I saw the ambulance coming out, I knew it was bad."
Tucker had to immobilized on a stretcher for precautionary reasons even though he had feelings and movement in all his extremties. It was later determined he fractured two verterbrae in the neck and would require surgery.
And because he laid the hit that caused the injury, Bradley wanted to visit Tucker.
"It's a respect thing," Bradley said. "I've got a lot of respect for Jason Tucker."
It has been an interesting season for the fourth-year pro. Three games ago, he ran some 60 yards to strip the ball out of Saskatchewan's Weston Dressler. Although the Roughriders retained possession of the ball and went on to win, Bradley earned the respect of his head coach and teammates for his hustle and desire.
"The play that I made knocking the ball out was a good play. This one is a more serious play because somebody got injured," he said. "We're both out there trying to make plays. You don't go into the game thinking you're going to injure someone. That's the worst feeling. I don't go into the game trying to hit somebody in the head.
"I'm always going to play the way that I play. I'm an aggressive player. I like to come up and hit. I'm not going to never lose that. That's just the way I play. But hopefully we won't have the end result again where anybody is hurt and getting carried off the field."
