Recovery after suffering gunshot wound extends beyond physical injury, experts say

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) 

Mizzou running back Ahmad Hardy is set to return to Columbia after getting shot at a concert over the weekend in Mississippi. 

A spokesperson for Mizzou football said Hardy was getting released from the hospital on Tuesday, but did not provide any updates on when he will be able to return to football activities.

Hardy, a Mississippi native, told police he attended the concert in Laurel to support someone he knew who was scheduled to perform that night, according to previous reporting. After being taken to the hospital, he underwent surgery on his leg. The standout running back finished last season leading the nation in rushing yards per game and ranked second in total rushing yards.

Should Hardy return, he will join a list of athletes who came back after being shot. Some notable examples include former University of Nebraska receiver Abdul Muhammad, who came back from a shooting in 1993 and helped the Cornhuskers win the 1994 National Title. 

More recent examples include San Fransico 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall, who scored his first NFL touchdown 50 days after being shot in 2024. Houston Texans wideout Tank Dell also returned to play after being wounded as a bystander at a private event in Florida that same year, and recorded over 600 receiving yards and three touchdowns before suffering a season-ending leg injury. 

Jeremy Fears Jr., of Michigan State basketball, suffered a gunshot injury in late 2023, but went on to play two full seasons for the Spartans afterwards.

But while athletes can often make remarkable physical recoveries from traumatic injuries, experts say the emotional recovery can often take much longer and may be harder to recognize.

ABC 17 News spoke with a therapist who specializes in gun-related injuries and a sports psychologist about the road to recovery for people affected by gun violence.

“This is a large part of their identity. And so when you suddenly take away the ability for an athlete to perform in their sport, you're impacting their own identity, and so they can often come out of that feeling a sense of grief, anger and loss,” said Kristin Mauldin, who is an associate professor of sport and performance psychology at California Baptist University.

For athletes recovering from any serious leg injury, whether from an accident, surgery or trauma, the physical healing process does not always mean the mental hurdles are gone.

“We see it quite often. An athlete will recover physically fully from their injury, but they're still favoring the leg,” Mauldin said. “Now they're going back out on the field. They're trying to use it again, and they're going to often have a fear response. They might favor the leg. They might be really hesitant to use it in the way that they used to, and so part of the goal of the sport psychologist, that person working with them is to help them to learn to trust it again.”

That fear can be amplified when the injury stems from violence, rather than competition.

Amy Miller, director of mental well-being at the Bullet Related Injury Clinic, said recovering from a bullet-related injury often extends far beyond the person who was physically hurt.

“What we find with a bullet-related injury is it’s not just you that's affected, but everybody around you. So we also provide support for the support system that's there,” Miller said.

BRIC -- a nonprofit based in St. Louis -- provides holistic services for people directly and indirectly affected by gun violence. Miller said survivors can often face anxiety in everyday places they once considered safe.

“Before something like this happens to you, you're just thinking you're just moving around in life. Innocent bystander. 'I'm just moving around. I'm going to a concert. I'm in my hometown. Everybody knows me. I know everybody,'” Miller said. “So that the spaces of social anxiety can easily set in.”

Even after a visible injury heals, she said the psychological impacts may remain. 

“They can come in the door, and if there's a physical wound that's there, usually we can fix the wound and you don't see it. Out of sight, out of mind,” Miller said. “But what happens with the nightmares? What happens when the nightmares come? What happens when I'm always looking over my back and over my shoulder and I've never dealt with panic attacks or anxiety attacks before?”

Mauldin said one factor that can make a meaningful difference in recovery is the support surrounding an athlete.

“One thing that I notice in this particular case is that he [Hardy] has great social support, and that is so huge,” she said. “He’s loved by his friends, family, and fans. I thought, Oh, that's so wonderful, because the sports psychologist can do a lot to come alongside and help. But that piece, we can't just provide that.”