Game With Pistol Critically Injures Player

A University of Kentucky football player was in critical condition after shooting himself in the head Thursday while playing a form of Russian roulette.

Ted Presley, 22, a junior fourth-string cornerback from Hopkinsville, Ky., is being treated at the University of Kentucky Medical Center at Lexington.

Kentucky football players gathered at the hospital’s emergency room Thursday morning and later at the E.J. Nutter Center to pray for their teammate.

Presley was shot while he and his roommate, Jason Smith, 21, also of Hopkinsville, were playing what they called “chicken,” the spokesman said. A bullet was placed in one of the chambers of a revolver, and the second time the gun was passed to Presley, the weapon fired.