Football Player Wears Helmet With Snake for Nearly an Hour During Practice

A school football player in Maumelle, Arkansas, later discovered that he had shared the field during practice with an unexpected and dangerous “guest.”

The incident occurred on August 6 during football practice at Maumelle High School. After warm-up exercises, the student felt something moving strangely inside his helmet. He then showed the headgear to the defensive coach.

When the inside of the helmet was examined, a roughly 60-centimeter snake was found hiding behind the padding. Experts later confirmed that it was a venomous cottonmouth, also known as a water moccasin, which is found in Arkansas.

Most remarkably, the player had worn the helmet for nearly an hour before realizing the snake was inside. Nevertheless, the snake did not bite him. Chris Davis, director of Maumelle Animal Control, called the player’s escape from a bite extremely lucky.

Removing the snake from the helmet was not easy either. Because it had lodged itself between the inner padding, specialists had to pour water into the helmet to get it out. The snake was then carefully removed and handed over to animal control officers.

The snake was later taken to a wooded area away from the school grounds and released into the wild. The football player put on another helmet and continued practice.