With the NFL season quickly approaching, the Indianapolis Colt’s find themselves in an early hole to start the season. 29-year-old star quarterback, Andrew Luck decided to walk away from the game just weeks before the 2019-2020 season opener.
Luck has dealt with a series of minor and major injuries (some season ending) for the past six years and finally decided to put his health before football.
It is becoming more of a trend throughout the NFL as of recently to put the money and fame aside for a second and look at how the game of football is affecting the body both physically and mentally. More and more professional athletes (football players especially) are starting to understand the effects of these injuries both long and short term.
As a fan, it’s hard to understand why these athletes are stepping away from the game in the prime of their careers, but as fans we don’t place our bodies on the line week in and week out for the entertainment of others.
It tends to be the players who have already made this decision in their career that come to the defense of those following their footsteps and retiring from the game they love. The real ones who actually understand the wear and tear sports can have on the body because they too have experienced that pain.
Injuries are a very common thing in contact sports, but football has been fighting an ongoing losing battle dealing with the safety of the game. It really starts to soak in on how dangerous this game is when you see the players you grew up watching your whole life step away because they are concerned for their physical and mental well being in the future. As a sports fan, watching athletes retire has always been an upsetting scene for me. I never want to see an athlete go, especially one that was as dominant as Luck when he was at his best. Although this may seem like a downside by bringing these issues to the forefront of the NFL once again, but hopefully they can find a way to keep the players safer and better protected.
Beyond The Banks 