🔒From the Vault: Detroit Lions lineman Mike Utley paralyzed in game against LA Rams on Nov. 17, 1991

The Detroit Lions were hosting the Los Angeles Rams on Nov. 17, 1991 at the Pontiac Silverdome when one of the most devastating moments in Detroit sports history happened.

Lions lineman Mike Utley suffered an injury that left him paralyzed from the chest down. It was an otherwise routine-looking play, but Utley’s injury was due to how his chin landed on the Silverdome turf with a Rams player over top of him.

Here is WDIV Local 4′s coverage of the events in 1991.

The Mike Utley Foundation has been active for decades now in its mission to find a cure for such injuries.

More coverage: Mike Utley page

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