Football is an inherently dangerous sport. But this isn’t part of the normal equation.
A high school football player in Maumelle, Arkansas practiced last Thursday for nearly an hour with a venomous cottonmouth snake in his helmet. The Associated Press and local station KATV reported on the incident Tuesday, and a local animal services office shared video of the viper’s capture from the helmet.
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The player, per the report, escaped being bitten and is apparently fine outside of what was surely an unexpected scare.
Per AP, the unnamed Maumelle High School student felt movement inside his helmet during practice and alerted an assistant coach. That’s when the 2-foot snake was discovered, hiding out beneath the padding inside the helmet.
Police were called to the scene to address what was an initial report of a copperhead inside the helmet. A copperhead, like a cottonmouth, is also venomous. But once on the scene, officials recognized it as a cottonmouth.
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In an effort to force the snake out of the helmet, they submerged the helmet into a tub filled with water. But the cottonmouth, also known as a water moccasin, is a semi-aquatic snake, and it was still in no hurry to leave its cozy confines.
But it eventually poked its head out of the water, and an officer captured it with a grabber tool. Maumelle Animal Services, which was also called to the scene, posted video of the capture that was shared on social media by an ABC News affiliate.
Chris Davis, director of Maumelle Animal Services, told AP that the player practiced with the snake in his helmet for nearly an hour. He told KATV that a bite in the player’s head could have been fatal.
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“If this snake would’ve bit the child, it probably would’ve been very fatal,” Davis said.
Per Davis, cottonmouths are the second-most venomous of six venomous snake species found in Arkansas. The others in addition to the copperhead include three species of rattlesnakes and the Texas gulf coast coral snake.
Davis said that he’d never seen anything like it.
“I’ve removed a snake out of a car vent, in the engine, purses, backpacks,” David told KATV. “In a helmet? Never. It was very unreal. You had to kind of be there and take pictures to say this was real.”
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Per AP, the player picked up another helmet and resumed practice after the snake discovery. As for the snake, Maumelle Animal Services reportedly released it in the woods, far away from the school and football practice.
