Pro Soccer Player Ponies Up $20,000 After Stomping Camera
Just incase @29_JL @hullcityteam your not sure the ball is the yellow thing…. not the £6k camera (photo al walter) pic.twitter.com/op6zGrUBVX
— Richard Heathcote (@rheathcote) December 21, 2013
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.
Dear @29_JL where do you want me to send the repair bill ? pic.twitter.com/Z6wRFQzaeN
— Richard Heathcote (@rheathcote) December 21, 2013
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 …”