Source: V. TV NBA
They are so adorable. They are fluffy, have big eyes and can love you unconditionally. The warmth they share when they play with you or cuddle next to you is hard to beat. It is not like a human being where one may constantly wonder what is the angle. Dogs are our friends . . . well, most of the time.
However, there is another inherent side to owning or being around a dog. They are often trained to be our protectors, and therein lies a potentially serious issue. Dog as enemy and liability.
Aaron Gordon, forward for the Denver Nuggets, owned a Rottweiler which bit him on Christmas Day. The power forward missed about a week after receiving 21 stitches between injuries sustained on his face and shooting hand. While Gordon stated he was at fault for the bite, he was lucky to walk away with only 21 stitches.
Yet, Gordon was not the only professional athlete who sustained injuries from a dog bite in recent years. In 2021, professional skateboarder, Brooklinn Khoury, lost a lip due to a dog attack. The late Diego Maradona, an Argentine professional football player and manager, had to have surgery on his face after being bitten by his own dog. Tim Tszyu, a boxer, had to have surgery after a dog bite at a barbecue in May of 2023.
Source: Kayo Sports
While all of these injuries were nonlife-threatening, some injuries from dog bites can be quite the opposite. Even if the injuries are not critical, those injuries can be life altering causing continuous medical appointments and other health concerns. If that’s the case and the athlete is the owner of the dog, the athlete can expect liability issues concerning his or her ownership of the dog.
Case in point, Ezekiel Elliott faced two lawsuits regarding his three dogs getting loose from his property and biting two different individuals. He was facing a lawsuit requesting more than a million dollars in damages. Considering his dog had already bitten a worker at a pet resort, Elliott already knew the dangerous propensity of his dogs so it’s good he settled over the summer with the one of the victims.