With the comments of Steelers receiver Hines Ward regarding concussed Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger dominating the discussion on the issue of players returning to action from head injuries, the case of Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner hasn’t gotten much attention.
Sure, Warner’s comments regarding the temptation for players to lie about their condition got some play, but it overlapped to a large extent with the crux of the Ward-Roethlisberger conundrum.
In separate Friday articles, Michael Silver of Yahoo! Sports and Peter King of SI.com take a closer look at Warner’s situation.
As it turns out, Warner had been cleared to play against the Titans, despite waking up on Sunday and not feeling right.
“Kurt had been cleared by our doctors, but there was no point in taking
the risk,” coach Ken Whisenhunt told Silver. “Kurt wanted to play. The team wanted him to play. That drives
you sometimes to make bad decisions, even about yourself. Because of
the recent awareness of these types of things, you really want to take
the conservative approach, and we did.”
And it wasn’t easy for Warner to not play, especially in a sport with a play-at-all-costs culture.
“There’s no question I was self-conscious about it,” Warner told Peter King of SI.com. “I can’t say definitively that guys were thinking that, but I noticed a few things. Maybe a coach didn’t talk to me the same way, or a player walked by without talking to me. We’re conditioned to think one game can mean everything. So you do wonder, yeah. You wonder if they’re thinking, ‘Yeah, he wimped out on us. Yeah, he wasn’t tough enough. Yeah, he wouldn’t come to battle with us.’”
So Warner encourages players to tell the truth about the things going on inside their noggins.
“If we lie, it’s not going to work,” Warner told King. “Players have to be honest, organizations have to be honest, for this to work over the long haul. We’re so conditioned to think the toughest, most courageous player plays with an injury like that. What I found out is the most courageous player is the one willing to tell the truth.
“Do you know how hard it is to say, ‘I don’t know if I’m ready?’ We’re conditioned to play hurt. I’ve played injured in my career. As long as you can be out there, any way you can be out there, you play. Everybody’s going to appreciate it, and everyone will talk about how tough you are. It takes a lot to be able to step away and say, ‘It’s just a game.’ People get fired for not winning. Players get cut. I am convinced players have to be continually protected from themselves.
“Look, I’m toward the end of my career. I don’t think about one more game defining me, or them throwing me out. I’m thinking about the 50 years with my family after this part of my life. Football takes a huge backseat. I’m going to have 12, 13 years in this game, and 70 out of it. When I think about it that way, it makes the decision a little easier.”
But the decision will be much harder for younger players. As we pointed out last week at SportingNews.com, players who suffer multiple concussions and miss games about it eventually will be stigmatized, and their ability to pay mortgages and other monthly expenses that a “real” job would never support would be decimated if their careers are derailed.
So for the same reasons that players use steroids and HGH in order to preserve their football-money lifestyles, most of them definitely will do whatever they have to do — especially when in many cases they merely have to do nothing — in order to keep playing.
Still, it’s not as if Warner has nothing to lose if his career ends after this season because of increased concerns regarding concussions. Despite all the money he has made, he likely needed two seasons post-Super Bowl XLIII of strong passing statistics to eventually don a mustard-colored jacket and talk longer than he should on a warm August evening in Canton.
As of right now, Warner is still 21 touchdown passes away from passing Hall-of-Famer Steve Young for No. 20 on the all-time list, and Warner needs 2,072 yards to leapfrog non-Hall-of-Famer Phil Simms for No. 20 on the all-time yardage list.
Warner also needs 156 completions to surpass the late Steve McNair for 20th on the all-time list.
So if Warner doesn’t play into 2010, his one Super Bowl win, two Super Bowl losses, and two league MVP awards might not be enough to make the case for Canton.
Then again, maybe his decision to assume a position of leadership on the concussion issue will prompt enough Hall of Fame voters to give him the benefit of the doubt.
Either way, this issue has gone from being background noise to the centerpiece of football discussion and debate in only a matter of weeks, and the transformation will require real leadership from men like Warner.
It also will require coaches and players at the lower levels of the sport to show courage and leadership as well, if the culture at the NFL level ever has any hope of fully changing.
To make it happen, they’ll need to hear — and to celebrate — voices like Warner’s.
Are you kidding….Warner has been a ROLE MODEL and a prolific player via the NUMBERS game AND by way of being a WINNER…AND THAT’S WHATS CONSISTENTLY COUNTED IN THIS GAME…and he’s been a an AMERICAN DREAM type of story of nowhere to somewhere…To be top 21 with the QB’s that have played the game since the beginning, will get him in…and I’m not even a fan of his and I can see that….
Time to make a link for NEWS….fair, balanced and journalistic…..and a link for commentary…..and then rumors…..
If Warner is smart he will sit out this week too. The Vikings D-line is going to pummel whoever is back there for the Cards this Sunday.
Warner doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who puts a excessive stock in getting into the HoF. Good for him, I say.
sport with a play-at-all-costs culture.
I’m thinking about the 50 years with my family after this part of my life. Football takes a huge backseat. I’m going to have 12, 13 years in this game, and 70 out of it.
———-
That culture is driven by the salaries.
That 50 years after the game will be much better because of your time in football and the salary you made. A lot better than stocking shelves did for you before you went to NFL.
Bart Scott gave a great interview awhile back when he was asked about the risk of the game. His reply was something along the lines of – Risk is rewarded with the salary. My family and kids will have a much better life than I did growing up because of these risks I take. I’ll trade anything to be able to give that to them.
Next time you’re shopping at the grocery store ask the stocker what he would give for a NFL salary for a year.
Nice having people talking about concussions and making changes, but players need to shut up and play or sit – depending on doctors orders.
If a player sits out due to a concusion, his salary should be $50,000.00 dollars, no matter what his normal salary would be….that’s alot of compensation to watch your fellow team mates play….I don’t look at it as them being penalized for being hurt, I look at it as them being compensated for doing nothing & medically monitored….when they are cleared they get their base salry back to normal….do they care more about their personal well being or the money???
Lets get to the heart of the matter…
Warner’s a standup guy. It takes big nads to speak out about something that so many other players are afraid to do. And this bullshit peer pressure from other players should be dealt with as well. Case in point, that ahole Hines Ward punking out on Big Ben. If the shoe was on the other foot I doubt that punk would want to play. He was being a selfish prick, only worried about his own standing. Makes no matter to him if Ben is a vegetable before he’s 50. Kurt stood up and put his health and his family ahead of money and fame….Class act in my book!
“Warner takes a stand on head injuries.”
He took a head stand?
This is the same Warner who whined about his hand his last year with the Rams. It was all because of his alleged hand injury that the team doctors refused to diagnosis that led to his poor performance. His wife even went on every tv program and radio show to say so.
Yeah, this is a guy who covers up injuries just to play. Uh-huh. Funny how we never heard about the hand again after he left the Rams.
Sorry Chingonrungame
Damm this just f’s up my fantasy football week!! No warner mean ethier David gerard or matt staford they both play at 10:00 am and they both suck!! . Iam screwed! Florio do your job and get me my post early like before 10:00 am on Sunday!
It seems to be universally accepted that what Warner did should be “celebrated.” However, the reality is the manner in which he arrived at his “courageous” decision was extemely selfish both in terms of the team and backup QB Matt Leinart and put the Cardinals at a distinct competitive disadvantage. Warner has admitted that he essentially lied (my word, not his) to the coaches and doctors during the week of practice insisting he was feeling better and would be able to play. Because of what Warner told the team, he received all of the normal QB repititions, with Leinart taking his normal level of snaps of between 5-10%. A more honest, and secure approach would’ve been to let Leinart take more snaps during practice because Warner, and Warner alone, knew there was an increased chance that Leinart might have to play. By not allowing Leinart to adequately prepare, the Cardinals basically wasted a half on conservative play calling. Leinart was attempting passes on plays he’d never practiced before (like splitting Beanie Wells out as a reciever).
Warner’s a mature, intelligent man with an eye toward the future and a lot of family responsibilities. He made the right choice and I commend him for speaking out.
But, Mike …
Have you ever read the medical reports on Roethlisberger’s motorcycle accident? The guy suffered severe head injuries. He still has several plates in his head. He severed an artery in his mouth, and had it not been caught by a paramedic at the scene, would have bled to death before getting to the hospital. Then he wound up having an emergency appendectomy and took no time to heal before starting the season. A wrong hit in the wrong place could have been catastrophic.
He’s had at least four concussions and is one of the most sacked QBs in the league but consistently blames himself rather than his o-line. Unlike Warner, who’s almost 40 and has a houseful of kids and a strong-willed wife to help him make the right call, Ben is 27 and single–much more likely to think he’s indestructible.
So … when Warner’s honest about his concussive symptoms and sits out, you think it warrants extra consideration for the Hall? But when Ben was equally honest about his symptoms, you initially posted that he was a well-known drama queen wimping out on his team.
Somebody call Gene Hackman. You’ve got about as much balance on this boat as they had on the Poseidon when it capsized.
Uhhh… Dude. How about stickin to 100 words or less. As usual.
Stick to the formula.
Can’t say i read this article./// nor the 500 word comments related to it.
Bibically influenced by Warner perhaps?
….will somebody answer the phone…
Chingonrungame…. both your matchups suck although it will be a shootout in Houston 30-3 houston good luck you could always pick up K.Boller I got money on it that his sucky ass scores more that Garrard or stafford…. Whatever you do good luck