A teammate's concern

The last entry on this blog took note of the retirement of a member of this past season's Super Bowl championship team, and particularly of the increasingly common note of retiring players getting out with their brains at least perceived to be somewhat whole if not completely intact. It can now be part of the discussion whether the player was relatively a veteran, like Dan Connolly, or someone much younger, like Chris Borland. 

Not every player comes to this calculation, though. Some players, such as Chris Conte of the Chicago Bears, state that they have made the decision, at age 25 in his case, that the health risks associated with playing NFL football are totally worth it and he'll play until he's broken into a million pieces, or something like that (well, okay, not quite that extreme, but...). Although Conte claims that concussions or brain trauma were not specifically part of the equation (he has had two so far), but the general health risks of playing in the NFL. However, since he seems in his account to be willing to sacrifice 10-15 years of his life to have an NFL career, it's hard to imagine how brain trauma isn't part of the calculation.

In the past week, a news story passed across the wires, possibly not noticed by many, that illustrates something of the impact of the ongoing concern about brain trauma among (at least some) NFL players. Cornerback Champ Bailey, once of the Denver Broncos, went public with his concern for former teammate Wes Welker, the wide receiver (who came to fame with the New England Patriots) who is searching for a new team via free agency. Welker was wracked by three diagnosed concussions in a nine-month span from 2013-2014, and his performance seemed to suffer in 2014 as he was unable to play and less productive (a two-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs didn't help) after a strong season in 2013.

Bailey didn't mince words:

"I don't want Wes to play for my own personal reasons. I've seen him get concussions. It scares me," Bailey told Fox Sports. "I think he can still play, but I don't want him to play because of these concussions.

"This thing is no joke. It's a serious thing when you start talking about your head. And for him to have to worry about that at a young age that he is now, he has to think about that for years to come, and I just hope he hangs it up and not strap it up again."

Not that Bailey doesn't understand why Welker wants to keep playing:

"I understand why he has that desire to play, he wants the ring," Bailey told Fox Sports. "He still has that hunger, I just don't want to see it."

 It isn't entirely surprising that no team has signed Welker so far; the public relations disaster of a well-liked player suffering a catastrophic brain trauma on your watch is something no coach or general manager wants to risk.

I make no claim to any profound theological insight here. There is nothing really profound I have to say. I am simply struck by the inescapable conclusion that if a successful player like Bailey is moved to such concern, knowing what he knows about playing in the NFL and having seen what he's seen in his career, then I don't really see how I, or any would-be mindful faithful fan, can profess not to be concerned, or can avoid seriously examining oneself and one's devotion to a game with such consequences.

Champ Bailey is worried about Wes Welker

Image credit: denverpost.com