Former NFL receiver Antwaan Randle El regrets ever playing football

[DaKCMan AP]

Former NFL receiver Antwaan Randle El regrets ever playing football

Former Washington Redskins and Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antwaan Randle El is perhaps best remembered for his 43-yard touchdown pass in Super Bowl XL that aided a Pittsburgh win over Seattle, but a decade later, the physical and mental drawbacks have been so significant that he regrets ever playing in the NFL.

“If I could go back, I wouldn’t” play football, he told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in a Steelers-themed project posted Tuesday. “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 in Washington from 2006 to 2009 between two stints in Pittsburgh, said he regularly experiences trouble walking down stairs — “I have to come down sideways sometimes, depending on the day” — and has serious memory lapses.

“I ask my wife things over and over again, and she’s like, ‘I just told you that,’ ” Randle El told the Post-Gazette. “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.”

In 2013, Randle El and three other former players filed a lawsuit against the NFL in a Manhattan federal court alleging the NFL “has done everything in its power to hide the issues and mislead players concerning the risks associated with concussions,” according to The Village Voice. In 2015, after that suit was consolidated with more than 2,000 others, he was one of more than 5,000 players that received more than $900 million in settlement money from the NFL to resolve a concussion lawsuit.

Since retiring in 2010, Randle El helped to found the Virginia Academy, a Christian high school in Ashburn, where he serves as the school’s athletic director. Originally, he was a proponent for the development of a football program at the school, but he has no remorse after it was cut two years in when it became too expensive.

“The kids are getting bigger and faster, so the concussions, the severe spinal cord injuries, are only going to get worse,” he said in the interview. “It’s a tough pill to swallow because I love the game of football. But I tell parents, ‘You can have the right helmet, the perfect pads on, and still end up with a paraplegic kid.’

“There’s no correcting it. There’s no helmet that’s going to correct it. There’s no teaching that’s going to correct it. It just comes down to it’s a physically violent game. Football players are in a car wreck every week.”

Randle El is not naive to the profitability of the sport or the impact it has on society, but with the concussion and life-long injury issues getting more attention than ever before, the nine-year veteran thinks the end may be near.

“Right now, I wouldn’t be surprised if football isn’t around in 20, 25 years.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...ying-football/

[Hoopsdoc]

Randle El was the best college player I've ever seen. Played on some really horrible teams at Indiana, though.

[Sully]

I think the football can do a lot more than it has to help (but never eliminate) the head trauma. I think the reason they haven't taken a lot of the steps necessary is a simple matter of aesthetics.

The Kelso/Wallace helmets from the 90s? They looked goofy, but it's hard to argue that much padding wouldn't do a ton of good. But they'd look "dumb" so I bet there would be a ton of pushback (just like no NBAer will shoot free throws granny-style, though it's proven to be better).

Take away facemasks, and soften helmets (rugby-style skulls caps) would eliminate all but the most idiotic spear-ers. But then guys would mangle their faces, and no one wants to give up any chance at a TV/Advertising/ Acting career for that.

Those three things alone would go a long way to lessening head trauma. But no one is going to do that, simply due to the optics, IMO.

[Skyy God]

What's really going to impact the NFL is when network/cable TV collapses in about 5 years due to cordcutting. No more billion dollar deals.

[Perineum Ripper]

Originally Posted by Sully

I think the football can do a lot more than it has to help (but never eliminate) the head trauma. I think the reason they haven't taken a lot of the steps necessary is a simple matter of aesthetics.

The Kelso/Wallace helmets from the 90s? They looked goofy, but it's hard to argue that much padding wouldn't do a ton of good. But they'd look "dumb" so I bet there would be a ton of pushback (just like no NBAer will shoot free throws granny-style, though it's proven to be better).

Take away facemasks, and soften helmets (rugby-style skulls caps) would eliminate all but the most idiotic spear-ers. But then guys would mangle their faces, and no one wants to give up any chance at a TV/Advertising/ Acting career for that.

Those three things alone would go a long way to lessening head trauma. But no one is going to do that, simply due to the optics, IMO.

[ChiefsCountry]

Originally Posted by Cave Johnson

What's really going to impact the NFL is when network/cable TV collapses in about 5 years due to cordcutting. No more billion dollar deals.

Funny considering NFL makes it money off OTA tv.

[FloridaMan88]

If Randle El had played baseball and said his memory is bad after getting a 100 MPH pitch driven into his face, and his knees were bad after years of taking tough slides is this even a story?

Girls soccer has a higher rate of concussions than football does, yet that doesn't stop the same people in the media who bash football over concussions from celebrating women's soccer.

[Sully]

Originally Posted by KCChiefsFan88

If Randle El had played baseball and said his memory is bad after getting a 100 MPH pitch driven into his face, and his knees were bad after years of taking tough slides is this even a story?

Girls soccer has a higher rate of concussions than football does, yet that doesn't stop the same people in the media who bash football over concussions from celebrating women's soccer.

I'm not sure if you are trying to win a contest for typing the silliest thing you can, but if you are, I bet you are winning.

[FloridaMan88]

Originally Posted by Sully

I'm not sure if you are trying to win a contest for typing the silliest thing you can, but if you are, I bet you are winning.

You are a dumbshit who wants to buy into the "football is pure evil" narrative that those with an agenda/motivation to destroy football are pushing.

[Sully]

Originally Posted by KCChiefsFan88

You are a dumbshit who wants to buy into the "football is pure evil" narrative that those with an agenda/motivation to destroy football are pushing.

Sure I do.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by KCChiefsFan88

If Randle El had played baseball and said his memory is bad after getting a 100 MPH pitch driven into his face, and his knees were bad after years of taking tough slides is this even a story?

There aren't many people that will sympathize with athletes who have knee injuries. That's part of the sport. Everyone knows that as fact.

But I seriously doubt that one concussion from a baseball to the head while wearing a helmet would cause long term issues, especially CTE.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by Cave Johnson

What's really going to impact the NFL is when network/cable TV collapses in about 5 years due to cordcutting. No more billion dollar deals.

The $2 billion dollar per year deal with ESPN won't go away because people will just use the app on their mobile device, Blu Ray player, Roku, Fire, etc.

And the major contracts with the networks are OTA's, so those won't go anywhere, ever.

[FloridaMan88]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

There aren't many people that will sympathize with athletes who have knee injuries. That's part of the sport. Everyone knows that as fact.

But I seriously doubt that one concussion from a baseball to the head while wearing a helmet would cause long term issues, especially CTE.

Fair enough, but my point is I think most of the attention and outrage on this subject... especially in the media... comes from the fact that many believe football is inherently evil and must be stopped.

If it is strictly being motivated out of concern for safety/public health, then there would be attention given to sports with higher concussion rates, including women's soccer and wrestling and their potential connections to CTE.

Was there any talk during the Women's World Cup last summer about how half of the women playing in the tournament might end up with CTE because of the prevalence of concussions in their sport?

Is there any talk of shutting down high school wrestling because of the concussion risk and CTE risk in that sport?

[DaFace]

While the headline isn't untrue, it's certainly leading. His statement was basically, "I wish I would have been a professional baseball player," which makes the assumption that he would have been a successful baseball player (we'll never know on that one).

That's a far cry from "I wish I wouldn't have played football" and instead been just an everyday Joe, which is what the headline makes it sound like he's saying.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by KCChiefsFan88

Fair enough, but my point is I think most of the attention and outrage on this subject... especially in the media... comes from the fact that many believe football is inherently evil and must be stopped.

I haven't seen any articles stating that football is "evil and must be stopped" so it's likely we're reading different websites.

[Marcellus]

Don’t get me wrong, I love the game of football. But right now, I could still be playing baseball

Doesn't sound like huge regret other than he still isn't making $ playing a professional sport.