Wilton Speight's Father Slams Purdue Medical Facilities After QB's Back Injury

Bobby Speight, the father of University of Michigan quarterback Wilton Speight, criticized how Purdue University handled his son's care after he suffered a back injury in September during the Wolverines' road game against the Boilermakers at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Angelique S. Chengelis of the Detroit News passed along comments Thursday from the elder Speight, who stated there was "no urgency" and lamented the poor conditions: 

"Wilton gets hit and didn't move for a little while, which is a parent's worst nightmare. The police took us down but were unable to open the door. Someone who appeared to be a member of the food staff realized what was going on and let us in. When that door opened, even in high school I had never been in a visiting locker room that bad. It was dark, dingy, dirty."

Speight and his wife, Martha, said they don't typically grant interviews about their sons' athletic careers, but told the Detroit News they wanted to speak out about this issue for the sake of other parents.

"What an absolute train wreck," he said.

Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh also spoke out about the problem during his Monday press conference following the team's 28-10 victory over Purdue on Sept. 23:

"There has to be a minimum standard of care for the players. We put a lot of emphasis into the health and safety of the players, but it doesn't even seem sanitary. I wish I had taken a picture of the actual table that is given to the visitors to put players on that are injured. It looked like it was from the 20s."

"Mainly for the health and safety of the players. A very small space for a training room that had nothing in it. This is no different than a facility I saw when I was in there in 1986. And I'm not putting this on Purdue. This is league-wide. This needs to be addressed by the league. This needs to be addressed by the commissioner."

Chengelis noted Tom Schott, Purdue's senior associate athletics director for communications, answered Harbaugh's remarks by saying the school's medical facilities were "similar" to its Big Ten counterparts.

"We stick with our original statement and are looking forward to being engaged in continued conversations as they relate to setting standards for visiting teams," Schott said.

Tom VanHaaren of ESPN.com reported Speight suffered three broken vertebrae and will "likely will be out for the rest of the season," though he'll be evaluated in two to three weeks.