PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia’s former superstar quarterback Nick Foles testified Thursday in a civil trial on behalf of his close friend and former Eagles player Chris Maragos, who is suing a Pittsburgh doctor and the Eagles medical team for botching a knee surgery that he says ended his career.
Maragos was tackled during a Panthers game in 2017. While he underwent surgery and rehab, his team advanced to and won the Super Bowl.
Maragos claims the doctors’ misdiagnosis and treatment cost him his career in the NFL.
Defense lawyers, however, argue doctors did all they could for Maragos, but it was a fall during his rehab that resulted in the irreversible injury.
Foles told jurors on Thursday that team leadership will often keep injured players away from healthy ones. Maragos was such a force on the team, he said, but he’s seen his friend’s physical capability and personality change since then.
“I’ve watched Chris … and what he was before and what he is after, and there’s been a dramatic change in who he is and as a person — his energy level, his tenacity,” said Foles. “I know going through this is a process that’s going to be healing for him because of the person he is.”
Foles said it’s been hard to watch Maragos go through his injury.
“It’s the first time in my career I have really ever seen a knee injury that’s ended a career,” he said. “Because doctors are usually so good at healing and surgeries — that’s why we choose them. Because we know they are going to get us back on the field.”
Defense lawyers questioned Foles on quotes from his own book, which described how things can change in an instant — alluding to the notion that a doctor has to make split-second decisions as well.
“If I throw four interceptions in a game or I struggle, there’s going to be repercussions,” Foles continued. “It doesn’t mean I’m a bad person. It just means I’m not at the top of my cuff, but I’m considered a lead in the NFL. Just ’cause you’re in the NFL doesn’t mean that every time you go out there and play, you’re going to play a great game. And I think that’s the big thing here: You want a doctor to always do a great job. That’s why you choose the doctor.”
The trial is expected to continue Friday and through most of next week.
Related
