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Steelers GM pays tribute to standing Ryan Shazier at awards banquet (pic)

Jason Rowan
| February 23, 2018

Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert took a moment at an awards banquet this week to pay tribute to Ryan Shazier, who stood in acknowledgment to “booming applause,” per a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette report.

Colbert was in attendance Wednesday night to accept a leadership award at the Dapper Dan Awards Dinner. During his speech, Colbert singled out Shazier, who remains in recovery after suffering a frightening spinal injury during a Dec. 4 game.

“As you all know, Ryan suffered a very serious injury”, Colbert said, via Steelers Depot, “and he faces a huge challenge right now. But from the moment he was injured and we took him off the field, Coach [Mike] Tomlin and I visited him that night in the hospital.

“Never has he once said, ‘Why me?’” Colbert continued. “All he said, and he said it again [on Nix’s podcast], he said ‘I can’t wait to get back.’ He can’t wait to get back to the game that he loves so much.”

Shazier, seated in a wheelchair, actually stood up twice, a remarkable and inspiring display demonstraing just how far he has come since undergoing spinal stabilization surgery in December.

Shazier also stood while attending a Pittsburgh Penguins game earlier this month, much to the delight of those in attendance.

The encouraging updates have been common as Shazier engages in what will be an extremely difficult recovery. The Steelers linebacker made the transition to outpatient treatment upon his release from a rehab facility earlier this month.

Shazier stated earlier this week he has every intention to not only resume his playing career but also one day be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It’s safe to say the entire Steelers organization, its fans and the NFL community at large are 100 percent behind him.