Pro Soccer Player Ponies Up $20,000 After Stomping Camera

Professional sports photographers know their equipment is always at risk, but British Getty Images shooter Richard Heathcote was still surprised and more than a bit miffed when his DSLR bit the dust at Saturday’s Hull-vs.-West Bromwich Premiere League soccer match.

That’s because his DSLR (looks like a Canon 1D?) — which was staked down behind the goal and remotely triggered — survived Hull player Jake Livermore’s opening goal just fine. It was afterward, when the player went on a celebration stampede and apparently decided to try and score a second goal with the camera, that the rig took a severe beating.

Heathcote took to Twitter with an image of the fractured rig and a ding to Livermore asking, “Where do you want me to send the repair bill?”

To his credit, Livermore stepped up right away with an apology, a promise to pay the estimated $10,000 to replace the camera and an additional vow to donate a like amount to cancer research. Heathcote’s response: “Thanks, jump next time … looks much better in photos …”