In a startlingly sober post in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antwaan Randle El lives with regret for playing football.
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Paired with trouble remembering things and issues going up and down the stairs (he says he sometimes has to walk down sideways), Randle El told the paper he wouldn't have played football if he could go back and do it again — instead opting for a career in baseball, where he was drafted by the Chicago Cubs.
"If I could go back, I wouldn't," he said.
The threat of serious injury is significantly worse now, as the Super Bowl winner notes the size and speed of student athletes is increasing by the day, making injuries that much more severe.
"The kids are getting bigger and faster, so the concussions, the severe spinal cord injuries, are only going to get worse," he said. "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."
With injury risks and more of a focus on concussions, Randle El can see the day where football doesn't exist.
"Right now," he said, "I wouldn't be surprised if football isn't around in 20, 25 years."
This isn't the first of this kind of claim, and it certainly won't be the last will all the issues in professional, collegiate and even youth football.
