A football player in Arkansas got the shock of a lifetime recently when he was at practice. The player had been wearing his headgear while participating in warm-ups when he felt something unusual in his helmet, according to ESPN. But he didn’t see anything amiss at first, so he brought the helmet to his assistant coach to take a closer look.
It was then that the Maumelle High School player learned that the strange feeling he’d been experiencing while on the field was thanks to a massive cottonmouth snake. The venomous reptile had apparently been snuggled up behind the padding. It began to move around during the warm-up activities.
ABC30 Action News reports that the pit viper wasn’t exactly ready to give up his warm and snuggly hiding spot, so reinforcements were called in to help free and relocate the snake.
Fortunately, neither the snake nor the football player was injured during the incident, which remains a miracle in itself given the close quarters the pair briefly shared.
A 2-Foot Cottonmouth Hid in a Football Player’s Helmet
The high school student had been wearing his helmet for about an hour when he sensed something was wrong, according to Fox16. After his assistant coach discovered the pit viper—pit viper is another term used to describe the snake, which belongs to the viper family—the player reportedly grabbed a fresh helmet and continued with practice.
However, the coaches couldn’t get the snake out of the helmet and were forced to call for help.
Maumelle Animal Shelter Was Called to the Scene
According to a Facebook post from Maumelle Animal Shelter, officials responded to the call for help, taking photos of the situation after they arrived. The pictures show just how deeply hidden the snake was in the helmet, explaining how the high school student could’ve initially missed the venomous hitchhiker.
“It was unreal,” Animal Services Director Chris Davis told Fox16. “You had to kind of be there and take pictures to say this was real.”
The Football Coach Also Reminded Players to Check Their Equipment
According to reports, the head coach also finished practice by sharing the same warning with players, reminding them that the pre-practice safety check should always involve checking equipment for potential hazards, which apparently now also includes cottonmouth snakes.
And with good reason, since the cottonmouth snake is the second most venomous snake in the state. Not only that, but Poison Control says that a cottonmouth snake’s bite can be very painful. Recovery can take several weeks in some cases. People who have severe reactions to the bite could also need an antivenom, which can help slow or stop swelling at the site of the bite.
Hopefully this team has had its last run-in with snakes in helmets, but you have to imagine that everyone is going to be a little more vigilant when it comes time to put on the football gear in the future, thanks to this incident.