Something truly rare happened this weekend. A high-profile NFL player, Vontae Davis, quit his beloved sport at halftime.
As athletes, especially within a true team sport, we are loyal. And we look to our comrades all the way across the field and on the sidelines to step up and play with us when we're in the game. So at first glance, first listen, first pundit's take, it seems out of this world and Beyond The Pale.
Kids, you can look that one up.
But, we've learned that with most things in life that strike you one way, if you give them a chance, and open your mind to other perspectives, it becomes easier to understand people's actions. Of course, the easiest route is not try to explain people, and just weed your own garden.
But we won't digress in that complicated direction.
Just imagine the perspective of an athlete who realizes he's not ready to play and ends up injured in his unintentional last game. Halftime's not great timing, but then most career ending injuries don't happen at a great time either.
And being a professional athlete has its benefits but it certainly has its costs as well,. This fellow was not the first to quit, and he definitely won't be the last now. We're going to go out on an unbroken limb and assert that he probably didn't want to quit at halftime. He just knew his time was up. He knows lots of things about his own body that, even though he's under a microscope, we just don't know.
And real talk, if you're lucky, the knowledge drops before you're forced to quit.
So ruckon rugby players and other athletes, stick with your team, but when you know it's time, do what you have to do.
And don't judge; it's never been cool..