The topic of concussions and debilitating injuries in the NFL has become an even greater issue since it has been brought to the forefront of mainstream media. Non-greater than the Will Smith helmed film Concussion, released this Winter that shed more light on the subject. Today, former NFL player Antwaan Randle El gave his thoughts on the matter and shared:
If I could go back, I wouldn’t,” he told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “I would play baseball. I got drafted by the Cubs in the 14th round, but I didn’t play baseball because of my parents. They made me go to school. Don’t get me wrong, I love the game of football. But, right now, I could still be playing baseball
Randle El, who played 9 season in the league for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Redskins, was not in the trenches on every play enduring contact on every snap like his peers but the 36-year-old is still suffering the effects of the game, especially considering that his mind has begun failing him.
I ask my wife things over and over again, and she’s like, ‘I just told you that,’ ” Randle El said. “I’ll ask her three times the night before and get up in the morning and forget. Stuff like that. I try to chalk it up as I’m busy, I’m doing a lot, but I have to be on my knees praying about it, asking God to allow me to not have these issues and live a long life. I want to see my kids raised up. I want to see my grandkids.
Even at his young age, Randle El still has issues walking down stairs, which puts playing football into much greater perspective.
I have to come down sideways sometimes, depending on the day,” Randle El, 36, said. “Going up is easier actually than coming down.
