Secretary of State Wrecks Her Knee Playing Basketball

The injury that has afflicted numerous NBA players in recent years—including Danny Green, Danilo Gallinari and Klay Thompson—has befallen Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan.

Fagan’s spokesman, Ben Morris, announced this week that Fagan tore her anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus in late January while playing basketball.

ACL tears are serious injuries. For pros who have top-of-the line rehab resources and huge financial incentives to get back to the court, regaining full function can still take a year or more.

Fagan played basketball at The Dalles High School, where her team finished third in the state. Her personal Twitter feed displays a strong interest in the game. Morris says she got hurt playing in a co-ed league in Portland (in the photo above, another elected official, State Treasurer Tobias Read, makes an appearance).

“Secretary Fagan secured a rebound and was driving up the baseline,” Morris says. “She saw a defender coming, so she jumped up to pass the ball ahead to a teammate. The defender kept coming and hit Fagan’s knee in the air. She felt it pop at the time and was in a lot of pain. Her basketball friends helped get her to the emergency room where she had -rays and an MRI, revealing an ACL and meniscus tear.”

Fagan will undergo surgery and be out of her office this week.