The throw he gave back
In 2011, at the SEC Indoor Track & Field Championships, the officials made a mistake in Louis Day’s favor. What he did next is the reason patients can trust what he tells them in an exam room fifteen years later.
He was a weight thrower for the University of South Carolina, competing in the shot put, discus and the 35-pound weight throw against the deepest conference in college athletics. At the conference championships, event officials misread the distance on one of his throws and placed him into the nine-person final.
He hadn’t earned the spot. Somebody else had.
Day and his coach, Mike Sergent, went to the officials and protested his own performance — not to gain a place, but to give one up, so that the real top nine throwers could compete for the championship they had actually thrown for. After reviewing the protest, the head field event referee expanded the final to ten competitors.
He did not win that championship. South Carolina’s director of athletics, Eric Hyman, said his sportsmanship was “that of a champion.”
Three organizations noticed
SEC Sportsmanship Award
One of two recipients, selected by a vote of the SEC Directors of Athletics.
NCAA Division I National Sportsmanship Award
Chosen as the male recipient by the NCAA Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct.
Sports Illustrated — Faces in the Crowd
Featured in the issue of 12 September 2011.
“Do I really need this surgery?”
It is the question almost every orthopedic patient is thinking and most are too polite to ask: is this surgeon recommending an operation because I need one, or because operating is what he does?
It is a fair question, and no amount of a website insisting “we’re honest” can answer it. What can answer it is evidence — a documented moment where telling the truth cost him something he wanted, in public, with officials and a scoreboard on his side.
Dr. Day’s practice is built on conservative treatment first and surgery when it is genuinely the right answer. The throw he gave back in 2011 is the reason to believe that.
Ready to get back in the game?
Schedule your visit with Dr. Day and take the first step toward feeling like yourself again.