Local football player receiving national attention for tackling teammate

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009 | 1:50 p.m.

Cory Turner’s now-infamous play during a local adult football game will surely be part of sports blooper highlight packages for years to come.

Turner, a defensive tackle for the Las Vegas Cobras, inadvertently tackled his own teammate during a punt return two weeks ago against the Henderson Wolverines.

The play instantly drew laughter from everyone at Ed Fountain Park. That, however, was just the beginning.

Someone was filming the contest and put a 37-second video of the play on Youtube.com. The video was picked up on Monday by deadspin.com — the nation’s most popular sports blog site.

It has since been shown on ESPN and other national newscasts and talked about on the Jim Rome syndicated radio show.

Turner, 26, realizes he’s the punch-line of several jokes. But he’s taking everything in good fun — that is, only if everyone gets his name right.

The video shows No. 53 of the Cobras making the tackle. But Mauriece McIver, Turner’s brother, is listed as No. 53 on the team’s Web site. Turner, you see, borrowed McIver’s jersey for the game.

“It’s cool. I ain’t trippin’,” Turner said. “I didn’t know the play would become that serious. But I’m not mad. It’s all in good fun.”

Turner said his one of his biggest critics was his girlfriend. She didn’t attend the game, but he told her of the play later that night.

“She just laughed at me and said, ‘Come on, they have two different colored jerseys,’” Turner said.

Turner, who played locally at Durango High, is like most in the adult league — playing for recreation. Some have aspirations of reaching a higher level with a handful over the years earning spots on AFL2 rosters.

As for the play, Turner quickly realized the ball carrier was his teammate. The video shows him putting his hands on his helmet and sitting on the turf in embarrassment.

Now, some two weeks after the game, Turner still is receiving good-spirited criticism from teammates.

“I got mad at the guy and decided to tackle him,” he jokingly said. “Of course, I’m kidding. It was an accident.”

Cobras coach Mike Howard, who has been coaching in the Wild West Football League for nine seasons and is part of the Minor League Football Hall of Fame, said the play will go down as the wackiest in his tenure.

“That’s the funniest thing I have seen in 40 years of football,” Howard said. “We laughed, everyone at the park laughed. But, of course, the guy who got tackled wasn’t too happy.”

Ray Brewer can be reached at 990-2662 or ray.brewer@lasvegassun.com.