This year has been devastating for professional athletes when it comes to injuries. The NFL lost Andrew Luck, Deshaun Watson, JJ Watt, Julian Edelman, Carson Wentz and David Johnson just to name a few. The NBA lost Celtics guard Gordon Hayward on opening night to a gruesome leg injury. Losing big names has hurt individual teams as well as each league.
When losing an impact player, teams and fans often put pressure on players to return before it’s safe. For example, Green Bay Packer quarterback Aaron Rodgers returned last week against the Carolina Panthers after being out since week six. Rodgers suffered a collarbone injury against the Vikings and had surgery on October 19th. The surgery included 13 screws and two plates and takes an average of 6-8 weeks to heal. At the time, sportswriters were reporting Rodgers would miss the rest of the season. Rodgers started in week 15.
Rodgers is one of the greatest quarterbacks in the NFL today. His performance against Carolina was simply not his greatest game. He threw three interceptions in the loss, ending Green Bay’s playoff chances. Although he was cleared by the Packer medical staff, he should not have played. The risk of another injury was way too high. Normal people would still be in the process of healing, not playing a high contact professional football game. “It’s not 100 percent healed. But it’s looking really good. Any time you’re going through the final maturation, then weighing estimates and pixels on a CT scan or MRI, there’s a decision,” a source told Ian Rapoport, an writer for NFL.com. Athletes should not be allowed to play if their injury is not 100% healed. It is incautious and ill advised.
Basketball player Gordon Hayward had a gruesome ankle fracture on opening night of the NBA. Like Rodgers, Hayward was expected to miss the entire NBA season. “The Celtics organization has been just over the top in every aspect. They know I will not be back on the court at all this season, but they have been making sure I have every resource I need and are making me feel like I am a part of the team,” Hayward wrote shortly after his injury. This is now old news. He is now out of his walking boot and looking to return this season for the Celtics.
Athletes returning to their sport prematurely doesn’t only negatively affect themselves physically, it also hurts their team. Nobody wants a teammate that isn’t competing at 100% of what they’re capable. No athlete should feel pressured by coaches or fans to return before they are 100% healed and comfortable.
