Should Fans Ever Cheer an Injury? — Sports Survey of the Day

Houston Texans quarterback Matt Schaub went down with an ankle injury in the team's Week 6 loss to the St. Louis Rams. Instead of receiving a sympathetic reaction from the crowd at Reliant Stadium, the injury was cheered, as was Schaub's replacement, T.J. Yates. Is it ever okay to cheer for an injury in sports?

Texans fans have made their disdain for Schaub clear prior to Sunday's incident, with some of the more rabid Texans fans burning his jersey and even showing up at his house to yell at him after a bad game. But did Texans fans go too far this time?

On one hand, Schaub clearly needs a change of scenery, given his massive struggles under center for the Texans this season. Before leaving last weekend's game, Schaub had thrown an interception that was returned for a touchdown in four consecutive games, making opposing defenses about as potent as the offense he led. For the paying customers of the Houston Texans, that was unacceptable.

However, Schaub is a human being, regardless of how many interceptions he throws. For anyone to be happy about someone being in physical pain can be seen as savage behavior. It was this same act that helped earn Philadelphia Eagles fans a bad reputation, when they booed Michael Irvin after he suffered a neck injury at Veterans Stadium in 1999.

Is it ever okay for sports fans to cheer about an injured player?