Chiefs trainer Rick Burkholder defended how his medical staff handled the eye injury that Ravens linebacker Kyle Van Noy suffered in last week’s game. On Friday, Burkholder also mentioned that he spoke with the Baltimore medical staff and exchanged text messages with coach John Harbaugh to “clear the air.”
Van Noy injured his right eye in the third quarter of the first NFL game last week, which Kansas City won 27-20. He later expressed disappointment about how long it took for the Chiefs’ doctors to see him in the locker room after he left the field.
“We respect the Ravens. We respect their medical staff. I respect Kyle as a player and I’m pretty upset that he was upset,” Burkholder said. “When he went down, I went out there because I thought he had a head or neck injury.
I asked their physician if they wanted an ophthalmologist at the time. They did not.”
Later, the Ravens’ medical staff decided that Van Noy needed an eye specialist, so they asked the Chiefs to bring in the ophthalmologist. It took 12 minutes for the doctor to be located and reach the locker room.
There is no NFL rule requiring an ophthalmologist or dentist to be available. The Chiefs offer both as a courtesy to visiting teams. “I’m sorry he was upset,” Burkholder said. “I think we worked it out with the Ravens.”
The NFL also stated Thursday night that it had reviewed the situation with officials from both the Ravens and Chiefs and found that Van Noy received “appropriate” care from the Kansas City medical staff.
Van Noy had expressed his dissatisfaction on his podcast Tuesday with retired defensive tackle Gerald McCoy.
