Arkansas football player discovers venomous cottonmouth snake in helmet

No injuries sustained; player avoided potential venomous snake bite despite wearing helmet for approximately one hour with the cottonmouth inside.

On a summer practice day in Maumelle, Arkansas, a high school football player unknowingly wore a helmet harboring a venomous cottonmouth for nearly an hour before feeling movement and alerting his coach. The snake — one of the state's most dangerous — was eventually flushed out by police and relocated unharmed, as was the player. It is the kind of encounter that reminds us how thin the membrane is between the ordinary and the dangerous, and how a single small habit — a glance inside before you put something on — can stand between routine and catastrophe.

Arkansas football player discovers venomous cottonmouth snake in helmet

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