Denver Nuggets forward Danilo Gallinari hasn’t played since tearing his left ACL back in April, 2013. Gallo faults Dr. Richard Steadman for the lengthy recovery time, following a pair of knee surgeries.
Gallinari also points out similar setbacks experienced by Fiorentina forward Giuseppe Rossi, Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn, and OKC Thunder guard Russell Westbrook — all three were clients of The Steadman Clinic of Vail. Per Sportando (via La Gazzetta dello Sport) and the Denver Post:
“Steadman? It is clear that if I could go back, I would not go to Steadman Clinic,” said Gallinari. “I will write a book on my last year and half with some things never told. But it is better not to talk about that. I just say that one month after my surgery, Steadman said that he would not work anymore. I made a wrong choice but he was considered one of the best surgeons and his clinic was within a hour’s drive from Denver.
Now I see what happened to Giuseppe Rossi, Westbrook, Vonn and many other maybe not famous that went to his Clinic,” added Gallinari.
According to the clinic’s website, Dr. Steadman — whose list of clients “include 26 athletes from professional soccer, 45 from the NFL, 23 from the MLB, 8 in the NBA and 26 snow skiers” — retired from surgical practice at the end of January of this year.