‘He was so strong with God.’ Everman football player paralyzed in state championship has died
Corey Fulbright, the Everman defensive back who was paralyzed during a state championship game in 2002, has died.
Fulbright, 37, of Fort Worth, died Wednesday, according to the football team and the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Fulbright “endured without complaint the pain of that injury for 20 years,” read a post on the football team’s Twitter account. “For those of us who knew him, we will miss him immensely.”
He was a 17-year-old senior when he went down after a tackle during the first quarter of the Class 3A Division I state championship against Burnet at Alamodome in San Antonio. Everman went on to win 35-14.
Flubright broke his neck and spent the rest of his life paralyzed from the neck down.
Fulbright told the Star-Telegram in a 2012 interview that he prayed every day and that his faith kept him grounded.
“I have to stay upbeat, otherwise I might as well give up,” Fulbright said. “And that’s not an option for me.”
He also refused help with things he could do for himself. Using a pencil attached to a brace on his right hand and arm, he made phone calls, changed TV channels and scrolled through iTunes on his laptop.
“I don’t like to use the word handicapped or paralyzed,” Fulbright said. “I say, ‘I’m temporarily disconnected at the legs.’”
Austin Chittim was the outside linebacker for Burnet the day Fulbright was injured. At that time he didn’t know Fulbright personally, but the play remained with him. Years later he connected with Fulbright over Facebook.
Chittim was inspired by Fulbright’s big dreams and positive attitude.
“He was so strong with God,” Chittim said. “He never hated football, never questioned God.”
They started a documentary of Fulbright’s life, called “Bulldogs United,” after the Everman and Burnet mascots. Chittim said he regrets not being able to finish the project before Fulbright’s death, but he knows the film will inspire others.
“He just had this like ‘Don’t feel sorry for me, I’m going to be OK, let’s talk about making big things happen,’” Chittim said.
Chris Canales, co-founder of a nonprofit that supports former football players with spinal cord injuries, said Fulbright changed his life.
Canales sustained a spinal cord injury during a high school football game in 2001. As the one year anniversary of his accident approached, he started spiraling into a deep depression. His father took him to the state championship game between Everman and Burnet to give him a diversion.
Canales knew what was wrong when Fulbright went down and knew he needed to find a way to help him.
“I knew how hard it was to go through the injury alone and not having anybody to talk to,” Canales said.
The next day Canales and his father Eddie Canales went to the hospital to check on Fulbright and meet his family. As a result, the father and son started the nonprofit Gridiron Heroes to support Fulbright and others who have sustained life-altering injuries on the football field.
Eddie Canales said Fulbright always enjoyed being a part of Gridiron Heroes. He liked to talk to the other guys and join them for football games in the Dallas-Fort Worth area whenever he was able.
“He wanted to create his own foundation as well, but he was never really healthy enough to be able to sustain that,” Eddie Canales said. “So being a part of Gridiron Heroes was one of his ways of giving ... back.”
Nikita Russell, spokesperson for the Everman school district, said Fulbright recently attended a football game at the high school which commemorated the 20 years since his life-changing injury.
“Our deepest condolences are with the family, and he touched many lives,” Russell told the Star-Telegram in a statement over the phone.
