University of Oregon athletics videographer Scott Anderson is in search of a new camera after Saturday’s college football game in Eugene. His old camera is no longer with us. RIP.
The time of death was 3:25 p.m. PST on October 21. The incident occurred on a big run by Ducks running back Jordan James, who stands 5-foot-10, 205 pounds.
James caught a pitch to the right side, broke an initial arm tackle and cut back toward the sideline. As he did, Washington State defensive back Jaden Hicks came in to forcefully shove him out of bounds at 6-foot-3, 212 pounds.
This is when things turned ugly for Anderson. He didn’t have time to get out of the way.
James put his left hand into Anderson’s chest in an effort to brace himself and pushed the videographer back as a result of forward momentum. Unfortunately, it was not enough to protect the camera.
It took the hit head-on. James made contact with the camera, which snapped it completely in half.
Here is how it looked from a POV perspective:
Another video from the far sideline caught the entire incident in real-time from a better angle that shows James run directly into Anderson on the Oregon sideline. To his credit, though, Anderson did not lose his feet.
Videographers are athletes too!
Anderson posted a photo of his camera after the game. It is not in good shape. The camera and the lens attachment are completely smashed with no hopes of recovery.
There is no blame to be cast here. James’ camera-smashing run is part of the risk of being on the sideline.
However, Anderson is lobbying Sony to help him out with a new rig. It would be a pretty cool opportunity for Sony to get some great PR — although this might happen too often in sports to do it for just one person.