• NFL

'Barbaric' Houston fans hail hurt Schaub's exit

ESPN staff
October 14, 2013
Matt Schaub went off injured against the St Louis Rams © Getty Images
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Teammates of Houston Texans' Matt Schaub have branded their own fans as "barbaric" and "disgusting" after they cheered when the quarterback went off injured against the St Louis Rams.

Schaub suffered an ankle injury late in the third quarter of Sunday's game, with a smattering of fans celebrating as he limped to the sidelines.

His starting status was in doubt during the week as coach Gary Kubiak considered benching him. Schaub has thrown nine interceptions so far this season. Last week in San Francisco he became the first player in NFL history to throw interceptions that were returned for touchdowns in four consecutive games.

The incident left a number of Schaub's teammates seething. Linebacker Brian Cushing called it "barbaric." Back-up quarterback T.J. Yates' face darkened immediately when asked about it. Left tackle Duane Brown called certain fans' behaviour "disgusting." Receiver Andre Johnson said it was a sign of "no class."

"It's bad when members of the other team are saying that's messed up that they would do something like that," Johnson said. "It just shows no class. It wasn't all the fans. But those are the same people that you're out somewhere with your family and you tell them they can't have an autograph right now, those are the same people that tell you you're rude.

"You don't cheer about nobody being injured - I don't care who it is. Guys lay their bodies on the line out there on that field. Some guys get injuries, and it affects them their whole lives. To cheer about something like that, it just shows they have no class."

The cheers grew louder when Yates entered the game after Schaub limped off the field.

"We appreciate you loyal fans and the fans that stick by us - I want to put that out there first," Brown said. "But for the fans that cheered when he got hurt, that's disgusting. You can feel how you want about him as a player, but this is his livelihood. This is how he provides for his family.

"When a man goes down and he's not able to get up and you're cheering, that's bad. It's all bad. You don't know what's wrong with him at that point. That could be the last play of his career. You don't know that. And for you to cheer and applaud that, I have no words for that."

Schaub remained on the sideline surrounded by trainers, having his ankle taped, while Yates finished the Texans' drive. And Yates picked up where Schaub left off, throwing an interception to Rams linebacker Alec Ogletree who returned it 98 yards for a touchdown and ultimately outran the quarterback.

Schaub did not address reporters after the game. Kubiak said Schaub had "a little bit of everything on that one leg," including his foot and ankle.

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