Funeral held for former Everman football player who was paralyzed during 2002 state title game

EVERMAN, Texas — Friends and family gathered Saturday in Everman to grieve the loss of Corey Fulbright, a former football player who was paralyzed during a high school game 20 years ago.

In 2002, when Fulbright was 17 years old, he broke his neck and suffered a spinal cord injury after delivering a hit in the 2002 UIL 3A state championship game. 

Twenty years later, Fulbright went to the hospital after his lungs collapsed while battling pneumonia. 

He died on Feb. 8 at 37 years old.

Today was full of sorrow after the passing of Corey Fulbright. Corey played on the State Champion teams in 01/02. He was injured in the 02 State game and endured without complaint the pain of that injury for 20 years. For those of us who knew him, we will miss him immensely. pic.twitter.com/h7dfIaCKcU

— Everman Football (@FootballEverman) February 9, 2023

Fulbright’s funeral was held at Everman High School on Saturday. The community also honored Fulbright with a balloon release at Johnson Park in Everman.