Comments on: Andrew Sweat: Concussion fears led me to turn down the NFL

By: helloanonymousxoxo

helloanonymousxoxo — Sat, 19 May 2012 16:58:59 +0000

Andrew Sweat made his own decision based on his health. I think that is extremely brave and it has nothing to do with being afraid. Not many people could set aside their dream like that. I’m proud of him and to be honest, he doesn’t need to NFL for success. Andrew will succeed in anything he attempts in the future. He’s not just an elite athlete. He is brilliant; an extremely intelligent guy with over a 3.9gpa that will make well for himself no matter what he chooses to do next. And for all you putting him down, he’s most likely going to be the attorney or financial advisor saving your @ss someday.

Proud of you A. Sweat!

By: deathtoromo

deathtoromo — Fri, 18 May 2012 16:08:02 +0000

I’m sure sucking and having no chance of ever making the active roster played a part also.

By: warrenpeacephotography

warrenpeacephotography — Fri, 18 May 2012 06:51:09 +0000

What the hell is wrong with the people calling this guy names for making a smart decision about his own life? He’s a sissy with no backbone? WTF? I would hope they all get concussions to see what it’s like, but based on their thinking skills, I suspect they already have.

Good for Mr. Sweat, I wish the best for him!

By: covercorner

covercorner — Fri, 18 May 2012 04:01:16 +0000

I hope all of the former players sue their schools. They worked for free and got hurt.

By: maximusprime107

maximusprime107 — Fri, 18 May 2012 02:53:31 +0000

I was going to make a snide remark until I kept reading and saw he’s had a history with concussions. Good for him

By: randomcommenter

randomcommenter — Fri, 18 May 2012 02:49:34 +0000

Sweat was on scholarship. His eyes will probably pop out of his head when he gets his first ever tuition bill at law school. Then he’ll be back like Myron Rolle who wants to be a Doctor.

By: nflfan87

nflfan87 — Fri, 18 May 2012 02:20:48 +0000

@phillyforlife:

You’re 100% right. Jealous internet tough guys that assume this guy doesn’t have better options than being a bouncer because low paying back breaking jobs are all they’ve ever been offered in life. Then they try to equate their job with being an NFL player with a college degree and call these guys who would destroy them mano y mano and could do their own crappy job for another 50 years longer without complaining half as much as they do.

Where at in Philly you from? I’m from Conshy.

By: cfos00

cfos00 — Fri, 18 May 2012 00:25:13 +0000

phillyforlife says: May 17, 2012 4:59 PM

spartan822 says:
I’m amazed at how many people automatically assume that concussions had something to do with Seau killing himself. And the media isn’t helping by perpetuating that idea without any real evidence. We really don’t know why he did it. He may have just been depressed.
—————————————————-
Exactly, No has ever connected depression with concussions but they have connected it with being out of the spot light, irrelevant and not ever getting a multimillion dollar signing bonus again.
———————————–

Wrong. Concussions and the associated brain damage have been definitely connected to dementia and depression. And your brain does not recover like a lot of the rest of your body.

I’m amazed by the comments here. Ripping the kid for wanting to live a normal life, where he has a short term memory or have brain damage is suddenly something to be ashamed of? Are you kidding? Concussions get easier to get once you get one, and trying to play pro ball now sounds like it’d be basically guaranteeing that he ends up in a bad place from what he said about the shower incident. Would anyone here really want that for themselves, or better yet, would you want your kid to make that choice for a couple years of a few hundred thousand, which is what he’d make at the bottom of a roster? I highly doubt many would say yes.

It really sounds like a lot of internet-tough-guy talk without any real thought behind it here.

By: darthhitman77

darthhitman77 — Thu, 17 May 2012 22:59:10 +0000

WHO?

By: chazatlas

chazatlas — Thu, 17 May 2012 22:47:29 +0000

Wasn’t going to make the Brown’s roster anyway.

By: brownyelf

brownyelf — Thu, 17 May 2012 22:34:12 +0000

lolb23, way to make an uniformed comment. he’s going to law school. he already has full rides offered from multiple schools. yeah, a bouncer

By: pigskin28

pigskin28 — Thu, 17 May 2012 22:11:31 +0000

I work for a large Corporation. We work on the third floor with stairs and one elevator. You are not to use the elevator during fire, but tjis wheel chair bound guy works with us. So because of the law he can’t be put on yhe first floor, cause we can’t discriminate. So in a major emergency someone else has to put their life on the line. Ridiculous. Same as concussions. If this guy was chosen fi rst rnd he would have undoubtedly taken the chance then sue even after entering the League knowing his susceptability..(sp?). How many crrently suing the league had similar circumstances? Of course the league can’t just exclude them cause that’s discrimination

By: Deb

Deb — Thu, 17 May 2012 21:49:19 +0000

If that’s how he feels, he made the right choice. It requires extraordinary commitment to compete at the professional level in any sport, especially a difficult, violent sport where someone younger and faster is always fighting to take your place. But no one should be using Seau’s death as a catalyst for making these decisions. Suicide is a complex issue, and football may have played only a small role–if any–in his tragedy.

By: hedleykow

hedleykow — Thu, 17 May 2012 21:03:46 +0000

Desk in an air conditioned office all of a sudden didn’t seem so bad. (Minicamp must have sucked.)

By: lolb23

lolb23 — Thu, 17 May 2012 20:59:59 +0000

Ohio State kid. He was cheating all through college and realized that kind of thing doesn’t fly in the NFL, so he decided instead to stay home and be a bouncer somewhere in some bar in Columbus.

By: phillyforlife

phillyforlife — Thu, 17 May 2012 20:59:59 +0000

By: bigredscouting

bigredscouting — Thu, 17 May 2012 20:57:42 +0000

No problem with this decision. I’ll never have an issue with decisions like these. These men put their body’s and unfortunately their minds on the line. Honestly, it takes just as much courage to say no to the game then it does to accept the risks. Good for him.

By: longdrive2011

longdrive2011 — Thu, 17 May 2012 20:56:18 +0000

“”I have a long life ahead of me and I think I’m a lot more than just a football player”"
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The first part is presumptuous, however if he really is jazzed about being a lawyer then the second part makes sense.

Reflecting on the quote “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away”, I have to think I would give up a few years to be an NFL player so long as I could make a few million.

By: finleye

finleye — Thu, 17 May 2012 20:56:16 +0000

Good for him. Gotta know when to hold ‘em & when to fold ‘em.

By: silentshimmy

silentshimmy — Thu, 17 May 2012 20:51:46 +0000

As my future father-in-law would say
“That’s why girls don’t play the game coach”.

But honestly it sounds like he made a good choice. With his concussion history I can completely see why he might be a little scared of hurting himself in the long run.
Good for him doing what he felt was the best for him and not letting the stereotypical male bravado possibly get him really hurt.

By: starfan79

starfan79 — Thu, 17 May 2012 20:42:23 +0000

I’m glad he stepped away if he felt that way. Better now than later claiming he didn’t know hitting your head could leave lasting effects and try to sue the NFL.

By: xxwhodatxx

xxwhodatxx — Thu, 17 May 2012 20:41:07 +0000

Just shut up.

By: yssupasigninnamnotyep

yssupasigninnamnotyep — Thu, 17 May 2012 20:37:07 +0000

He didn’t pursue the NFL because he knows he’s not good enough…period.

By: doe22us

doe22us — Thu, 17 May 2012 20:25:12 +0000

A lot of these players dont have the mental nor academic aptitude to make good, sound, informed decisions. Big ups Andrew, great choice and besides its his freaking decision anyway.

By: spartan822

spartan822 — Thu, 17 May 2012 20:22:22 +0000

“It’s definitely scary,” Sweat said. “I hear all the things about concussions, what happened to Junior Seau, it’s scary the repercussions that can happen because of a concussion, and it’s just something that I didn’t want to risk.”

I’m amazed at how many people automatically assume that concussions had something to do with Seau killing himself. And the media isn’t helping by perpetuating that idea without any real evidence. We really don’t know why he did it. He may have just been depressed.

I’m not saying this kid is making the wrong decision. Given his history, maybe it’s for the best.

By: mox19380

mox19380 — Thu, 17 May 2012 20:21:02 +0000

based on this guys personal history it sounds like he made a smart decision. being concussed by a bump in the shower is a bad sign when you plan on entering a league where the bumps are exponentially worse

By: addict2sport

addict2sport — Thu, 17 May 2012 20:18:48 +0000

I think the odds of making the team as an UFA were more scary than being concussed. Good decision. Pro football obviously ain’t for him.

By: bearsrulepackdrool

bearsrulepackdrool — Thu, 17 May 2012 20:16:43 +0000

He wouldn’t have made it anyway, if he’s scared.

By: steeelfann

steeelfann — Thu, 17 May 2012 20:13:38 +0000

Sissies.

All about freedom. You know the risks of all sports.

Football
Skiing
Basketball
Hockey
Baseball
Ice Skating
Lacrosse
Rugby
Gol……….nah, not golf
Soccer

We have a free country and you can purse what activities you want to, whether amateur or professional. You are not forced to do so, it is your choice. Be responsible for your choices, be accountable. Quit looking for handouts from employers, from the government, from hard working people.

Get some backbone. Be thankful for your free choices. Quit sticking your hand out. Live with what you have chosen to do. Quit acting dumb.

By: vbe2

vbe2 — Thu, 17 May 2012 20:08:21 +0000

Kind of think that if he had been a first round pick rather than an UDFA, he’d have made a different decision.