On December 9, 1977, during an NBA game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets at the Forum, a scuffle broke out among several players at midcourt, particularly concerning the Lakers' Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the Rockets' Kevin Kunnert, which eventually involved Washington coming to Abdul-Jabbar's aid, leading to blows from Washington towards Kunnert.
Washington saw Tomjanovich running towards the altercation between the players and, unaware that he intended to break up the fight, instinctively hit Tomjanovich with a short right-hand punch.
The blow, which took Tomjanovich by surprise, fractured his entire face about one-third of an inch away from his skull and left Tomjanovich unconscious in a pool of blood in the middle of the Forum.
Abdul-Jabbar compared the sound of the punch to a melon being dropped onto concrete.
Players involved say that right after Tomjanovich collapsed, the absence of sound at the Forum, filled with shocked fans, was "the loudest silence you have ever heard."
Reporters heard the sound of the punch all the way in the second floor press box, and some rushed to the playing floor in disbelief.
Tomjanovich was able to get up and walk around, but was in terrible condition.
The bone structure of his face detached from his skull and he was suffering a cerebral concussion, broken jaw, and nose, as well as leaking blood and spinal fluid into his skull capsule.
His skull was fractured in such a way that Tomjanovich could taste the spinal fluid leaking into his mouth. He later recalled that at the time of the incident, he had thought that the scoreboard had fallen on him.
The doctor who worked on Tomjanovich said "I have seen many people with far less serious injuries not make it," and said the surgery was like Scotch-taping together a badly shattered eggshell.
Washington saw Tomjanovich running towards the altercation between the players and, unaware that he intended to break up the fight, instinctively hit Tomjanovich with a short right-hand punch.
The blow, which took Tomjanovich by surprise, fractured his entire face about one-third of an inch away from his skull and left Tomjanovich unconscious in a pool of blood in the middle of the Forum.
Abdul-Jabbar compared the sound of the punch to a melon being dropped onto concrete.
Players involved say that right after Tomjanovich collapsed, the absence of sound at the Forum, filled with shocked fans, was "the loudest silence you have ever heard."
Reporters heard the sound of the punch all the way in the second floor press box, and some rushed to the playing floor in disbelief.
Tomjanovich was able to get up and walk around, but was in terrible condition.
The bone structure of his face detached from his skull and he was suffering a cerebral concussion, broken jaw, and nose, as well as leaking blood and spinal fluid into his skull capsule.
His skull was fractured in such a way that Tomjanovich could taste the spinal fluid leaking into his mouth. He later recalled that at the time of the incident, he had thought that the scoreboard had fallen on him.
The doctor who worked on Tomjanovich said "I have seen many people with far less serious injuries not make it," and said the surgery was like Scotch-taping together a badly shattered eggshell.
