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Ex-Celtic Rogers paralyzed

Email|Link|Comments (11) Posted by Chad Finn, Globe Staff December 4, 2008 01:53 PM

Rodney Rogers, who played 12 seasons in the NBA and was an important role player on the 2001-02 Celtics team that advanced to the Eastern Conference finals, has been paralyzed in an all-terrain vehicle accident, the News & Observer in North Carolina reported this morning.

Dave Odom, who coached Rogers, the 1993 Atlantic Coast Conference player, at Wake Forest, told the newspaper that the 37-year-old is paralyzed from the shoulders down.

"Say a prayer for Rodney and his family,'' Odom said to the newspaper.

Rogers, a rugged 6-foot-7-inch lefthander with a soft touch from the outside, played 27 games for the Celtics in 2001-02 after coming to Boston along with guard Tony Delk in exchange for swingman Joe Johnson. He averaged 10.7 points per game for the Celtics, shooting 41 percent from 3-point territory.

According to the newspaper, Rogers was riding in the woods in rural Vance County, N.C., last week when he fell off the vehicle, according to the North Carolina Highway Patrol. He was recently transferred from Duke Hospital to the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, which specializes in rehabilitation for people with catastrophic injuries.

Rogers, who retired after the 2004-05 season and was reportedly financial set, had returned to his hometown of Durham, N.C., and was working for the city public works department as a heavy machinery operator. He was also volunteering as a girls' basketball coach at a Durham middle school and had set up a computer lab at a city public housing complex, according to the report.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.

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11 comments so far...

tragic. sayin a prayer.

Posted by Alex December 4, 08 02:23 PM

This dude was jacked up!!!! Hopefully it will help in his recovery. Sweetest stroke for a big guy ever!

Posted by roberto678 December 4, 08 04:30 PM

dude, he's PARALYZED.....you don't "recover" from that.

also, could we get an article correction for this statement -
"Rogers, who retired after the 2004-05 season and was reportedly financial set, had returned to his hometown of Durham, N.C."

Is it "reportedly financially set" or "reportedly financially set back" or something else?
If he's financially set why's he working as a heavy machine operator?

On the flip side I'm really sorry for him. He must be going through hell right now.

Posted by concerned December 5, 08 12:04 AM

this is a terrible story...seemed like a good guy, best of wishes to him and his family.
operating heavy machinery for public works? very odd..

Posted by benjikaye22 December 5, 08 08:46 AM

Rodney Rogers is a class act and played hard his hole career ! My prayers go out to him and his family.

Posted by titans coach December 5, 08 09:24 AM

He has enough money for his life time, he went back to work for the town because he felt that was the right thing to do and he was bored sitting at home. His supervisor didn't even know he was a millionaire. It's a sad story, why does this happen to the good people

Posted by tmak December 5, 08 09:44 AM

concerned.......if you read the espn article he was financially set but he was not the type of person to sit home doing nothing he actually enjoyed his job and was promoted to supervisor after 6 months... god bless Rodney

Posted by money December 5, 08 10:07 AM

This is really sad news. He didn't spend much time in a Celtics uniform but he was a great addition to the team and was a class guys. My prayers go out to him and his family. I think it's really pointless to nit pick with how the article is written. It's irrelevant in this situation.

It may just be that he liked to work and therefore got a part time job back in his home town. It just seems he was a down to earth guy and he became involved in his community.

Posted by Elvis December 5, 08 10:39 AM

Rodney is in my thoughts and prayers. One of my personal favorite players during his time with the Cs

Posted by Tim December 5, 08 10:51 AM

Actually, with the advances that have been made in spinal repair technology, it is possible for some people to "recover" from these types of injuries. In fact, doctors told that defensive player from the Bills that he'd never walk again - but they were later able to repair his spinal column and he was able to walk again. So you never know - the technology is out there for certain injuries.

Posted by J.P. December 5, 08 12:02 PM

My Prayers go out to Rodney Rogers and his family, I pray that our lord Jesus Chirst will heal him.

Posted by Nicholas December 22, 08 04:21 PM