Rich Behm

Last updated March 26, 2022

Rich Behm is a former scouting assistant for the Dallas Cowboys who was permanently paralyzed from the waist down after his spine was severed during the collapse of the team's tent-like practice structure in a severe storm May 2, 2009.

Professional career

In 2002, he was hired as a video assistant by the Dallas Cowboys, with the responsibility for shooting team practices and games. In 2004, he moved to the scouting division where he compiles college football games as well as NFL combine video. He is also responsible for evaluating college and pro football players.

Practice facility collapse and injury

On May 2, 2009, the Dallas Cowboys tent-like practice facility provided by Summit Structures collapsed during a wind storm. The no-frills building was essentially a 100-yard football field with a few more yards of clearance all the way around. The roof was 80 feet high, the equivalent of an eight-story building. The collapse left Behm and 11 other Cowboys players and coaches injured. The two most serious injuries were Behm and Joe DeCamillis, the team's Special Teams Coach. DeCamillis suffered fractured cervical vertebrae and had surgery to stabilize fractured vertebrae in his neck, and Behm was permanently paralyzed from the waist down after his spine was severed.^[1]

About 70 people, including 27 players attending a rookie minicamp, were in the structure when the storm hit. Wind in the area around that time was clocked at 64 mph, a single mph shy of the threshold for a weak tornado. National Weather Service officials said a "microburst" may have pushed the wind beyond 70 mph at the top of the structure that was built in 2003. Most of the 27 players taking part in the mini-camp were drafted the previous weekend or signed as undrafted rookies. None of the team's veterans were involved. Coaches, support staff and media were also in the structure.

Cowboys reaction

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who was attending the Kentucky Derby on Saturday when the accident occurred, did not stop to talk to media outside the team's Valley Ranch headquarters Sunday morning when he arrived or left. He later released a statement, "To the Behm family we extend our love, comfort, and the full support of every person and resource within the organization," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said in a statement. "Rich is a courageous member of our family and someone for whom we care deeply. We ask for all friends and fans of the Dallas Cowboys to join us in embracing him and his family with their thoughts and prayers at this very difficult time."^[2]

Trust fund

After an outpour of support from fans the Dallas Cowboys established a trust fund for the family of Rich Behm. Bank of America, in conjunction with the Dallas Cowboys, they currently accept donations on behalf of Behm and his wife and three young children at Bank of America locations.^[3]

Lawsuit

Rich Behm and Joe DeCamillis, the two most seriously injured members of the Cowboys staff in the May 2009 practice facility collapse, filed suit August 25, 2009 against several companies involved in building or renovating the massive tent-like structure. Behm and DeCamillis accuse all the defendants of negligence and two of conspiracy – of knowing at least two years before the collapse that the facility was unsafe and covering it up. Their lawsuits, filed in Dallas County courts, are the first stemming from the Irving facility’s collapse. The suits are based on documents that some companies gave to Branson on the condition of confidentiality. The conspiracy allegations target: the steel-framed facility’s designer and manufacturer, Canada-based Cover-All Building Systems, its U.S. sales and construction affiliate, Summit Structures, the Las Vegas consulting firm JCI. As previously reported in The Dallas Morning News, JCI helped Cover-All and Summit design reinforcements for the tent after a building-collapse expert discovered engineering problems. The facility underwent repairs in summer 2007 that the Cowboys believed were “a temporary fix,” the lawsuits say. They allege that Cover-All, Summit and JCI “were to design and install a permanent fix after the 2007 football season was over” but did not. Instead, they “agreed to hide and conceal the practice facility’s shortcomings,” the suits say. The suit was settled for $19.5 million.^[4]

Related Research Articles

The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team is headquartered in Frisco, Texas, and has been playing its home games at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, since its opening in 2009. The stadium took its current name prior to the 2013 season. In January 2020 it was announced that Mike McCarthy had been hired as head coach of the Cowboys. He is the ninth in the team’s history. McCarthy follows Jason Garrett, who coached the team from 2010–2019.

Downburst Strong ground-level winds that radiate from a single point

In meteorology, a downburst is a strong ground-level wind system that emanates from a point source above and blows radially, that is, in straight lines in all directions from the point of contact at ground level. Often producing damaging winds, it may be confused with a tornado, where high-velocity winds circle a central area, and air moves inward and upward; by contrast, in a downburst, winds are directed downward and then outward from the surface landing point.

In professional sports, scouts are experienced talent evaluators who travel extensively for the purposes of watching athletes play their chosen sports and determining whether their set of skills and talents represent what is needed by the scout's organization. Some scouts are interested primarily in the selection of prospects, younger players who may require further development by the acquiring team but who are judged to be worthy of that effort and expense for the potential future payoff that it could bring, while others concentrate on players who are already polished professionals whose rights may be available soon, either through free agency or trading, and who are seen as filling a team's specific need at a certain position. Advance scouts watch the teams that their teams are going to play in order to help determine strategy.

The 1984 Dallas Cowboys season was the team's 25th in the National Football League. The Cowboys finished the season with a record of nine wins and seven losses, and missed the playoffs for the first time in 10 years. A division record of 3–5 caused them to finish fourth in the NFC East, despite equaling the overall records of the New York Giants and St. Louis Cardinals. A loss to the winless Buffalo Bills in week 12 cost the team a critical win. Nonetheless, the Cowboys had a 9-5 record and would have made the playoffs had they won one of their two remaining games, and would have won the division had they won both games. The team gave up a 15-point lead against the Washington Redskins in week 15, and then lost to the Miami Dolphins by one touchdown in the final week of the season. The season was overshadowed by a quarterback controversy between Danny White and Gary Hogeboom, with Hogeboom getting the majority of the starts.

The 1983 Dallas Cowboys season was the franchise's 24th season in the National Football League. The Cowboys finished second in the NFC East and improving their 6-3 record from 1982. The team broke the record for consecutive playoff appearances with 9.

The 1977 Dallas Cowboys season was their 18th in the NFL. The club appeared twice on Monday Night Football. Tony Dorsett rushed for 1,007 yards and became the second member of the Cowboys to have a 1,000-yard rushing season. During the season, the club scored 345 points, which ranked first in the NFC, while the defense only gave up 212 points. The Cowboys made it to their fourth Super Bowl and beat the Denver Broncos to capture their second Super Bowl Championship. They were the first team from the NFC East Division to win two Super Bowls. Their 15–2 record remains the highest single season winning percentage in team history.

The 1978 Dallas Cowboys season was their 19th in the NFL. For the third consecutive season, the Cowboys finished in first place in the NFC East. The Cowboys scored 384 points, which ranked first in the league, while the defense only gave up 208 points, 3rd best in the league. Twice, the Cowboys appeared on Monday Night Football.

The 1984 New York Giants season was the franchise's 60th season in the National Football League. With a 9–7 record, the Giants finished in a tie for second in the National Football Conference East Division and qualified for the playoffs. In the Wild Card round, New York traveled to Anaheim Stadium and defeated the Los Angeles Rams 16–13 to advance to the Divisional round. Instead of traveling across the country back to New York, the Giants spent the week in Fresno, California. They used the facilities at Fresno State to prepare for the San Francisco 49ers. However, the Giants lost to the 49ers 21–10.

The 1987 Philadelphia Eagles season was their 55th in the National Football League (NFL). Despite the interruption of the schedule by the second strike in six seasons, the team improved upon their previous output of 5–10–1, going 7–8. However, three of those losses came during the three-game stretch during the strike when teams were staffed primarily with replacement players, or "scabs," who crossed the picket lines to suit up. Despite the improvement, the team once again failed to qualify for the playoffs.

The 1979 Dallas Cowboys season was their 20th in the league. The team was unable to improve on their previous output of 12–4, winning only eleven games. They qualified for the playoffs, but lost in the Divisional round.

The 2009 Dallas Cowboys season was the 50th anniversary for the team in the National Football League. It was the team's first season playing at Cowboys Stadium. Their victory over the Oakland Raiders on November 26 extended their Thanksgiving winning streak to four in a row and also ended a three-game losing streak to the Raiders. They also ended the Saints' bid for a perfect season after a 13–0 start with a 24–17 victory on December 19, 2009. The Cowboys earned a playoff spot on December 27 after beating the Washington Redskins 17–0. On January 3, 2010, the Cowboys clinched their division with a win over the Philadelphia Eagles, 24–0. In the wild-card round of the playoffs, the Cowboys once again defeated the Eagles, 34–14, to score their first playoff win since December 28, 1996 and finish the season sweep of all three games played against Philadelphia. They lost 34-3 to the Minnesota Vikings in the divisional round of the playoffs, ending their season.

The 1972 Dallas Cowboys season was their 13th in the league. The team failed to improve their previous output of 11–3, winning only ten games. They qualified for the playoffs for the seventh consecutive season but settled for the wildcard spot. A pre-season injury to quarterback Roger Staubach and the trade of Duane Thomas hindered the offense. In the divisional playoff round, Staubach came off the bench to engineer an improbable 30–28 comeback win over the 49ers. The win over the 49ers still ranks as one of the all-time great Cowboys wins. However, the momentum could not carry them to a victory over Washington in the NFC Championship game.

The 1964 Dallas Cowboys season was their fifth in the league. The team improved on their previous output of 4–10, winning five games. They failed to qualify for the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season. The Cowboys would not have another losing season until 1986.

Summit Structures is a construction and manufacturing company based in Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States. Summit Structures provides fabric-membrane buildings up to 300' wide including design, construction, and project management services for structures built for temporary and permanent use. Offices are centrally located in Canada, United States and the United Kingdom.

The May 2009 derecho series was an unusually strong sequence of derecho events and tornadoes beginning on May 2, 2009 and continuing through May 8, which primarily affected the Southern United States. At least seven people were killed by the storms. An associated tornado outbreak also resulted in nearly 100 tornadoes, some strong, with most strong tornadoes, most damage, and all of the deaths on May 8. In total, nine people were killed, dozens were injured and at least $70 million in damage occurred, $58 million on May 8.

The 1995 Fort Worth Mayfest storm was a supercell storm that occurred on the 5–6 May in the Fort Worth and Tarrant County areas of Texas. It affected a highly populated area with hail up to 4 inches (10 cm) in diameter, as well as striking the local outdoor festival known as the Fort Worth Mayfest. At the time the storm was the costliest hailstorm in the United States history, causing more than $2 billion in damage. The hail injured at least 100 people, and flash flooding and lightning from the same storm killed at least 13 people.

Joe DeCamillis is an American football coach who is the special teams coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). DeCamillis was formerly the special teams coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars for two seasons. Before that, he coached for the Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Atlanta Falcons, and Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Dallas Vigilantes were an Arena Football League (AFL) team based in Dallas, Texas. Like its AFL predecessor, the Dallas Desperados, the Vigilantes played at the American Airlines Center. The Vigilantes and the Jacksonville Sharks began play in the 2010 season, the first after the league's restructuring. The franchise was owned by former Tampa Bay Storm owner Peter C. Kern and was managed by Stephen Evans. Vigilantes games were broadcast on the radio on 1190 AM and television coverage was provided by Time Warner Cable Sports.

The 2021 Incarnate Word Cardinals football team represented the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) in the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season as a member of the Southland Conference. The Cardinals played their home games at Gayle and Tom Benson Stadium in San Antonio, Texas. They were led by fourth-year head coach Eric Morris.

References

↑ Cowboys Practice Bubble Collapse
↑ Associated Press (May 3, 2009). "Rich Behm, Cowboys Staffer, Paralyzed After Accident, Was One Of Three Hospitalized". Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2013-03-03.
↑ Archived November 7, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
↑ "Jerry Jones settles with Rich Behm, Joe DeCamillis over canopy collapse - ESPN Dallas". Sports.espn.go.com. 2010-08-30. Retrieved 2013-03-03.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] Cowboys Practice Bubble Collapse

[2] Associated Press (May 3, 2009). "Rich Behm, Cowboys Staffer, Paralyzed After Accident, Was One Of Three Hospitalized". Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2013-03-03.

[3] Archived November 7, 2009, at the Wayback Machine

[4] "Jerry Jones settles with Rich Behm, Joe DeCamillis over canopy collapse - ESPN Dallas". Sports.espn.go.com. 2010-08-30. Retrieved 2013-03-03.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]