I thought this was very well worth the read and Calvin Ridley gained a fan today. I think sometimes us as fans lose sight of the person that these players are. These guys are real people that go through tough times and have to deal with it all while being in the national spotlight. The pressure some of these guys are under to perform is intense.
This also has me thinking a little more on the Jalen Carter situation. People are absolutely piling on this kid, some of it rightfully deserved. We have to remember this is a 21 year old kid that has spent a majority of his teenage and adult life in the spotlight. Sometimes guys struggle to deal with all that attention. He dealt with it in the wrong way and brought these issues down on himself.
Now you have this young kid with these crazy high expectations, dealing with a major tragedy. Not only did a teamate and staff member lose their life, but on top of it he was brought up on charges that could have ruined everything he ever worked for. The stress and weight of that must have been crippling on this 21 year old kid.
At the end of the day, if Brad (or, hell, Pete) makes the decision to draft Carter, then I trust that those guys were able to assess this and make the right call.
With the foster homes, homelessness, etc → pretty rough situation, for sure.
I couldn’t help but wonder what parallels to this might exist with J-Moss & how he might perceive football to be his mission…his life, etc. I’m not saying the homelessness or any circumstance is the same, but the parallel principle of meeting his needs through football.
After reading this, I feel a lot better about Jamo working out with Ridley this off-season. Seems like Ridley is a man on a mission, which is the exact mindset I would hope Jamo took this off-season.
Damn, if that doesn’t bring a year to your eye, you aren’t a human being.
If I’m a NFL GM, I have to hear similar come from Carter’s mouth, while seeing sincerity in his eyes.
The ■■■■ up is real. The repentance has to be just as real.
Something deeply troubling about Ridley’s letter, to take nothing from how raw and real this is, is the following …
When I got the MRI, though, the trainer told me it was just a bone bruise. So I kept it pushing. I took Toradol shots every Sunday, and I finished the season. Listen, I know the deal. I’m a football player. It was my decision. I know what we get paid for, you feel me? If it’s really just a bruise, I’m gonna be out there.
We finished 4–12, and then the whole staff got fired. Coach, GM, head trainer, everybody. When the new trainer finally came in, he sent me to a specialist in Green Bay. Within the first hour, the doctor said, “Your foot is definitely broken.”
Listen. There isn’t a world that exists where you can look at an MRI and confuse a bone bruise for a fracture. At the very least, if it’s not clear, they’d immediately get a second opinion.
He was lied to.
And in this case, it was just a bruise. But in light of the lies told that almost got Tua killed on the field, it seems like we’re seeing the ugly underbelly of the league’s medical (mal)practice.
Calvin got suspended for the entire 2022 season, it cost him 11 million in lost salary for gambling on the nfl. Obviously a real dumb move on his part.
Meanwhile, famous owners Robert Kraft and Jerry Jones are huge investors in DraftKings, so they are making a killing off sports gambling.
Complete evil bullshit. He admits he wasn’t thinking. But I’m far more willing to believe his side of the story than literally anything said by NFL owners. Don’t get that fat by doing the right things.
It seems like they portrayed things correctly in the movie any given Sunday. It’s sad but not surprising. I think doctors that get caught doing shady things like that should lose their medical license. You could cripple a kid.
I agree with you, it’s medical malpractice. If an owner can offer to pay the head coach to lose on purpose, see Miami. I’m sure that an owner can pay a team doctor to clear certain star players. Money talks unfortunately, and you’d think doctors were above that, but they can easily be corrupted as well.
The other side to this coin is many players want to play regardless of injury, especially a player that is in a contract year for example. Players will often try to hide injuries from team trainers and doctors. This has been well documented by former players. If you can’t play, you might lose your starting spot or miss out on a potential big pay day. And as we know the average nfl career last less than 3 years.
He was perceived as flippant about the bet when interviewed initially… its just 1500 yo…or the like
That turned the public perception and the NFL off, big time.
This is a deeper dive to show circumstances and also an attempt to rehab his image. I have both sympathy and empathy for him, having experienced a couple few of the things he did.
Debt paid, expensive lesson. Move on, fans and player.
They lied to him about a broken foot, masked the pain with drugs, risked his whole career, ignored his plea for help, all for a 4 win season. Pretty disgusting, probably criminal.
I hope he has some good seasons ahead of him.
When we look behind life’s curtains it’s ugly period.
This letter was a testimony to a degree…. He has started in the right path but will he keep each step onto the truth or will he follow the wrong way; prayers he gets it right… but admitting you are screwed ip is the needed starting point- for all of us
Just started working inside the jails last night; doing recovery and ministry work.
It hurts to see when these men went through but more importantly where thier minds are at…… in the wrong places. But we all, if we admit it, go to dark places in our mind and soul.
