Malik Boynton joined millions of other football fans on Dec. 4 when he turned on his television to watch the Steelers play the Cincinnati Bengals on “Monday Night Football.” Moments after Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier crumpled to the turf after making a tackle in the first half, Boynton instantly became one of only a handful of people in the world that truly understood what Shazier was experiencing.
Boynton, who had just completed his college career at Austin Peay University, suffered a spinal cord concussion in a 2016 game against Mercer University and missed the rest of the season.