Chris Simms apologizes to Dante Moore, Oregon after injury comments

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Dante Moore being carried off on a stretcher in the first half of Oregon’s 41-27 victory over USC was one of the enduring images of Week 4 of the 2026 college football season.

For one broadcaster, though, it was a moment that led to significant blowback and an eventual mea culpa.

During halftime of the Ducks’ matchup against the Trojans on Saturday, Sept. 26, after Moore had already been injured on a huge hit early in the second quarter, NBC’s Chris Simms described the play as a “Debbie Downer moment,” noting that fans want to see the best players in a game between ranked opponents. Simms went on to add that quarterbacks like Moore need to give themselves ample time to slide to avoid big hits.

'DISGUSTING PLAY': Dan Lanning, Oregon players condemn hit on Dante Moore

The former NFL quarterback was widely criticized on social media and elsewhere for his comments and on Sunday, Sept. 27, he issued an apology.

“I clearly did not show enough sympathy for the situation, just diving right into football stuff,” Simms said in a video he posted to social media. “I am sorry for that. I love college football. I want to apologize to all college football fans out there, especially the Oregon Duck fans. I’ve got great respect for the Oregon Ducks. Dante Moore, if anyone has seen anything I have said, is one of my favorite players in all of college football. I’ve got great respect for Dan Lanning and what he does for that Oregon Duck football organization. I mishandled it. I was wrong and I’m sorry for that.”

At the end of a long run on second-and-9, and with his team trailing 7-3, Moore slid after passing the first-down marker, but on his way to the turf at the LA Memorial Coliseum, he was hit late with the forearm of USC linebacker Desman Stephens II, who was called for targeting. Moore remained on the turf in a fencing response, an involuntary arm position that typically occurs after a severe hit to the head. He was taken off on a stretcher, put into an ambulance and transported to a Los Angeles hospital.

After the hit, NBC rules analyst Terry McAulay said Moore was defenseless and that there was “no question” it was a targeting penalty on Stephens.

During NBC’s halftime show, Simms said he believed Moore slid “very late” and “put the defender in a kind of no-win situation.”

In his apology Sunday, Simms referenced his own injury plague playing career, which most notably included a ruptured spleen in a 2006 game against the Carolina Panthers.

“I do have tremendous sympathy for the situation,” Simms said. “As a guy who almost died on the field from a hard hit 20 years ago, I understand the game, how brutal it can be and how we have to protect each other on the football field.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Chris Simms apologizes to Dante Moore, Oregon after injury comments

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