Football - Browns Staph Infection Outbreak

Center LeCharles Bentley has been recently hospitalized with a staph infection shortly after he underwent a season-ending knee surgery. This injury raised concerns of contamination at the Cleveland Clinic in Browns’ training facility.

Over the past three years, Bentley's infection is the fifth known case of staph for a Browns player. Indeed, since 2003, linebacker Ben Taylor, wide receiver Braylon Edwards, safety Brian Russell and tight end Kellen Winslow had been diagnosed various strains of staph, which is a bacterium that enters the body through the skin and can cause serious health problems.

The former Pro Bowler Bentley signed a six-year, $36 million contract with the Browns during last off-season when he was free agent. The player injured his patellar tendon during the first 11-on-11 play of training camp of the club on July 27th. He underwent surgery the next day. General Manager Savage explained that Bentley has been infected after the operation. But the infection was cleaned out on Aug. 28th.

Bentley's infection raised concerns in the club and point in direction of the Cleveland Clinic, which is the club's longtime health-care provider and current sponsor. Players can be infected because of contaminated objects, and the infection can be spread by skin-to-skin contact. The Clinic is currently being inspected and the results will show if there is a staph contamination in the Browns facility. But according to Dr. Steven Gordon, the Cleveland Clinic's chairman of infectious control, the Browns' cases remains isolated.

Cleveland is not the first NFL franchise to deal with staph contamination. The Washington Redskins hired earlier this year a company to treat their practice facility in Ashburn with a spray that controls the growth of bacteria and mold. The team also set up new carpeting and painted its locker room, weight room and training room before hiring the company. In 2003, five St. Louis Rams were diagnosed staph infection and a few members of the San Francisco 49ers also developed infections after playing the Rams.