One of the big stories of the 49ers’ season opener was the presence of Ricky Pearsall, the rookie who was shot in the chest nine days ago in San Francisco but survived. ESPN’s Laura Rutledge did a report on Pearsall early in the fourth quarter of Monday’s game from behind the 49ers bench, with Pearsall visible over her shoulder with his back to her on the sideline. As Rutledge gave a report of her conversation with Pearsall, the camera zoomed in on the receiver.
In what turned out to be the worst timing possible, though, Pearsall began to do a forward stretch, arching his back down.