Microburst Collapses Dallas Cowboys’ Training Facility

Scout Behm paralyzed, coach DeCamillis’ vertebrae fractured

Sports commentators talk about how the Dallas Cowboys have helped themselves with “addition via subtraction” when it comes to departed malcontent players like Terrell Owens. He surely doesn’t need online payday loans or debt consolidation, but his reputation does.

However, a collapse of another kind has shaken the football team, and it has nothing to do with players or personnel. In fact, circumstances have been quite tragic.

Eliott McLaughlin reports for CNN that OSHA is investigating a microburst weather event that caused a practice facility belonging to the team to collapse recently. The ensuing destruction paralyzed a scout and injured 11 others.

“We’re trying to determine if there were any violations, or determine the cause,” said Elizabeth Todd, spokeswoman for Region 6 of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

The wrong kind of frame?

The CEO of a company that makes similar buildings has been quoted as saying he believes there would have been fewer injuries if the facility had been supported by air rather than a metal frame. About 70 people were inside the metal-framed structure for a rookie practice when a line of heavy thunderstorms struck in a micro burst.

“It was as if someone took a stick pin and hit a balloon,” said photographer Arnold Payne, who was covering the practice for a CNN affiliate.

“A very difficult time”

A scouting assistant for the Dallas Cowboys, Rich Behm, suffered a severed spinal cord. He is paralyzed from the waist down, according to team officials. Special teams coach Joe DeCamillis fractured a cervical vertebra and assistant trainer Greg Gaither broke two bones in his leg. Gaither has had successful surgery, while DeCamillis was scheduled to undergo surgery at the time of this writing.

“Rich is a courageous member of our family and someone for whom we care deeply. We ask for all friends and fans of the Dallas Cowboys to join us in embracing him and his family with their thoughts and prayers at this very difficult time,” team owner Jerry Jones said.

Builders aren’t talking yet

According to the National Weather Service, winds near the ground during the microburst were estimated as being near 70 mph. However, airborne drafts in such as even can reach speeds exceeding 100 mph.

Summit Structures of Allentown, Pennsylvania and Cover-All Building Systems of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, the companies responsible for building the Dallas Cowboys collapsed dome, referred all questions to a public relations firm in Boston.

“We understand there is a great deal of concern and curiosity about what happened on Saturday, but rather than speculate, we are focused on being part of the effort to find answers and assist the team,” concluded the company’s statement.

Greater risk with metal

Competitors of Summit and Cover-All maintain that an air-supported structure would have been a much safer architectural choice. With no steel or aluminum beams, not only would there be greater safety during such a catastrophic weather event, but there would be fewer beams and a more open architecture. Metal frames also present a greater chance for architectural error, with all the extra nuts and bolts.

The risk was clearly greater.

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