Never miss Ducks4Life
LOS ANGELES — Her name is Brandee Barbee, Senior Athletic Trainer for Oregon Football. A lot’s been said in recent days affirming her skill and lightning-fast response to USC’s disgusting targeting hit on Oregon QB1 Dante Moore at LA Coliseum back on Sept. 26.
The handful of medical professionals who’ve publicly thrown in their two cents were consistently positive about Barbee’s quick aid to Moore and, I thought as a former first responder myself, a bit tacky in their entitlement to give a young woman an unsolicited performance review in the press.
But more importantly, I noticed something else. After the exceptionally efficient first seconds of evaluating Moore, Barbee positioned her hands to assess Moore’s spine and support his head and neck. And she kept her hands there, unwavering. Even after other help arrived.
Moore had been lights-out unconscious with visible impact convulsions. Barbee was first to move other players away; within seconds, she stabilized Moore’s head and neck, and she stayed with him like that until the paramedic handoff.
She positioned her hands to support Moore’s head and neck. And she kept her hands there, unwavering. Even after other help arrived.
By sports injury standards, Moore’s medical delay was longer than most, pushing past 10 minutes by the time he was lifted off the playing field. And that entire time, Brandee Barbee knelt on the LA Coliseum field, her shins and her forearms pressing into the Tahoma 31 Bermuda grass. Her familiar face a few inches away, close enough to shade Moore’s eyes from the SoCal sky. Her hands supporting the back of his neck, and her focus intent on protecting him from further injury.
In the days that followed, those press-savvy medical pros gave interviews validating Barbee’s quick response, keeping Moore’s airway open, and stabilizing his spine.
But the something-more I noticed, even as other help started to arrive: Barbee’s unwavering presence and steady hands stayed there, bracing Moore’s neck. Even after the cervical collar was in place. From the grass onto the backboard. Then to the medical cart. And onto the stretcher that hoisted Moore into the ambulance for his trip to LA General Medical Center.
Oregon’s senior athletic trainer stayed with Moore, hands supporting his neck and her familiar face in his view. She’s a first-generation college student raised by a single parent, and she earned a master’s degree from the University of Oregon in human physiology.
Yes, composure and competence, absolutely. But she knows that, with or without random colleagues confirming it to the news media.
And something beyond that, all through those 10 minutes that felt like an eternity: Her unshakable presence that conveyed without words, “I’ve got you; I’m not letting go until I know you’re safe.”
Her name is Brandee Barbee. Duck Nation, it’s time she gets her flowers. From all of us.
Abundance of caution
Long after Dante Moore is cleared to play again, he’ll carry this USC ordeal with him. Maybe for the rest of his life. The aches after that knockout cheap shot, and his eyes clearing to the blue sky over LA Coliseum. The stretcher bay of the ambulance, and those hours of uncertainty at LA General Medical Center.
Oregon later confirmed Moore’s concussion diagnosis. His CT and MRI scans were clear of any additional injuries. Oregon coach Dan Lanning said the Ducks and Moore will proceed with “an abundance of caution” in his recovery.
Football doesn’t give you the time to take your moment for granted. No matter how good or how fast or how strong, every OG knows your football years will pass you by. And it’s a long life after football for all of us. Age, injury, or fading ability end that chapter early in every single football story.
Your football chapter can end slowly. Or in the flash of USC Linebacker Desman Stephens’ targeting hit on Moore, it could have ended in an instant.
Bare hands; sheer will
Moore is recovering. Back in limited practices this week, and progressing through the concussion protocol. But in that moment with Moore lights-out on the Coliseum grass, his football career flashed before our eyes.
Barbee, who has managed Oregon Football health care since 2022, didn’t wait for the scene to settle.
She ran toward the emergency.
First one there to protect the athlete, with her bare hands, sharp skills, and sheer will.
She stayed with Moore until the ambulance carried him out of the Coliseum.
The bottom line
That handful of uninvolved medical pros were quick to jump into the spotlight and confirm that the first several seconds of Barbee’s response are what competence looks like in a football head-injury scenario. Her poise and readiness are exactly what matters in those crucial moments after everything goes sideways.
And Barbee’s unwavering care while everything around Moore’s motionless body spiraled into a moment of chaos, that’s a story worth remembering from an afternoon at the Coliseum that turned ugly in the second quarter.
Those 10-ish minutes on the LA Coliseum grass showed us another kind of hero.
Her name is Brandee Barbee, Senior Athletic Trainer for Oregon Football. So capable, even without speaking, her expertise and presence can say, “I’ve got you; I’m not letting go until I know you’re safe.”
More from Ducks 4 Life:
#GoDucks #Ducks4Life #DuckNation #OregonFootball #B1Gfootball #BigTenFootball
I saw her FLY to Dante's side and shove a Duck player out of the way so that no one but her would touch his neck and head. I was SO impressed with her quick actions and it's great to get her story!! All praise to her, 100%!!!!