Darnell Docket airs NFL dirty laundry

[xwalker]

Masons have it easy, try being a laborer

I did. My Dad was Brick and Stone Mason. I helped him every summer until my Junior year in High School.

 

[locked&loaded]

I did. My Dad was Brick and Stone Mason. I helped him every summer until my Junior year in High School.

hello, brother.

 

[waving monkey]

To be fair, when you have arrived in an industry that values your
skills and have included you in the business you are then entitled.
Fans like myself who have not been included in the business are not entitled.
We can not understand these privileges that the included enjoy.

 

[xwalker]

hello, brother.

Haha. Yes, it was really hard work.

 

[locked&loaded]

Haha. Yes, it was really hard work.

My father and grandfather did it, I still do it sometimes. I have learned one thing from doing it, I don't want to make a career out of it.

In the cold, mixing concrete and moving block.. it just sucks the moisture out of your hands and then you get these pin sized holes in your hands and they start cracking. hurts man. cant wear gloves because your hands sweat like crazy.

Sometimes working outside and sweating is cathartic, but 40+ hours a week..

 

[xwalker]

My father and grandfather did it, I still do it sometimes. I have learned one thing from doing it, I don't want to make a career out of it.

In the cold, mixing concrete and moving block.. it just sucks the moisture out of your hands and then you get these pin sized holes in your hands and they start cracking. hurts man. cant wear gloves because your hands sweat like crazy.

Sometimes working outside and sweating is cathartic, but 40+ hours a week..

Yes, my Dad's hand were a mess from all the cracking. He never wore gloves.

I've had a "desk job" now for many years but I missed construction work enough that I've bought an sold some houses just because I wanted to remodel them myself.

 

[enig]

There are many professions that take a physical toll on the body. Soldiers don't get paid millions but often have lifelong physical problems.

I've seen a single brick layer brick a 2500 sqft house in less than 2 weeks. That's about 12,000 pounds that passed though his hands. If he does that 25 times per year that's 300,000 pounds. Over a 30 years career that's 9 million pounds. Tell me that guy doesn't have some aches and pains.

my dad has a metal cage in his lower back made it to journeyman brick mason

 

[bayeslife]

Im sure there are. Because they arent experiencing it. The arent experiencing the pain their body is in everyday of their life. Im sure when the average Joe get a taste of that their view would change.

I think I would be too busy counting money to notice.

 

[RoboQB]

Reading everyone's posts has brought back memories of my dad when I was young. He was a carpenter and, like many of our dads, worked very hard... took overtime whenever he
could get it.. just worked himself, nearly, to death.... Now retired, he's had two knee replacements, three back surgeries, a shoulder reconstruction (and needs another one) and
just a life of constant pain... anyway, getting back to this thread and my opinion.... I find it difficult to sympathize with a man complaining about money when that man signed a contract
guaranteeing him $30 million.

Now, I don't what side of the "idiot" line I'm on, as someone has posted, but I was once told to follow the guaranteed money in a player's contract.... that money is his (minus taxing of course).
I don't know what the overall tax is on $30mil, but I'm pretty sure my family would still be taken care of for life.

 

[DallasEast]

I extended Mr. Dockett various degrees of sympathy, even though I have some reservations about the level of his overall compensation and entitlement, until he said:

The NFL says it wants us to report concussions, but its actions say differently. Guys are motivated to play hurt by the threat of unemployment and lost salary because of the collective bargaining terms forced on players by the owners. If you really wanted us to report concussions and other injuries, you’d guarantee the contracts.

Concussion is the wrong injury to use as an analogy. It is perhaps the one injury that anyone, professional athlete or otherwise, should always report and report immediately. No amount of monetary compensation or lack of compensation should prevent someone from seeking immediate medical attention for a concussion. Why? It is because concussion injuries the brain.

In my opinion, many people throughout the world discount the severity of brain injury. Some might say he or she just got their bell ranged or something similar and go about their business without immediate medical evaluation. What many end up not considering are the possible short- or long-term effects of brain injury like permanent memory loss, loss of bodily funtion, inability to solve complex or even simple problems, mood disfunction, dementia, seizure, etc.

Brain injuries do not dismiss the relevance of other injuries any athlete or nonathlete might sustain and live with. Persons with limb injuries might suffer lifelong discomforting or even debilitating pain. People may deal with moderate-to-severe medical consequences of internal organ damage to their liver, kidney, spleen, lung, heart, etc. These injuries create quality of life issues that might evolve into even terminal situations. A person's suffering might grow into something unbearable. Yet, their sense of self would still be intact.

Before people like Mr. Dockett diminish the importance of reporting every concussion they sustain, they should consider what that might eventually mean to them. They might want to think how a neurological exam may help them remember who their friends are, or their family, or even the person staring back them from the mirror. They may want to consider how "simple" concussions may cause them to involuntary urinate or defecate without warning in the privacy of their own homes or in a public setting. They may wish to think how important it is to them to do simple tasks like adding and subtracting, balancing a checkbook, reading a menu, tying a child's shoelaces or walk in a straight line with a healthy set of legs and feet. They might want to know how concussions might one day make them speak incoherently or interact with others in ways they feel is inappropriate or embarrassing. They may want to ponder what it feels like after the electrical activity of their brain short-circuits while playing with their grandchildren or driving to the supermarket, if they regain consciousness.

In short, Mr. Dockett (or anyone else) should consider how important it is to think. Maybe, just maybe, the realization will dawn on him that no amount of money or unemployment risk matters in regards to cognitive function. Nothing. It's not a Star Trek world, Mr. Dockett. People cannot fix your brain with fictional drugs and gadgets. Acknowledging the danger of concussions is one thing the league finally got right and should not be questioned... unless the questions focus on how to improve on preventing brain injuries. What is more valuable to you, Mr. Dockett? The residuals of $10 million guaranteed that pays someone to wipe the drool from your mouth? Or taking every neurological exam anytime anyone suspects your brain has been sloshing around inside your skull? Your choice.

 

[Venger]

Im sure there are. Because they arent experiencing it. The arent experiencing the pain their body is in everyday of their life. Im sure when the average Joe get a taste of that their view would change.

Tell these highly paid public employees all about it.

 

[Proximo]

Im sure there are. Because they arent experiencing it. The arent experiencing the pain their body is in everyday of their life. Im sure when the average Joe get a taste of that their view would change.

The reality is that there are thousands of Americans who spend their ENTIRE lives working extremely physical jobs that leave their bodies in shambles- and those jobs pay far less than the NFL and have little to no glory.

Darnell Docket can shut his pie hole and get a real job for all I care.

NFL players get paid handsomely, even the ones that spend their whole career warming the bench. The last thing I want to read is a crybaby article like the one Docket wrote.

 

[Proximo]

then go be a brick layer.

You should really be directing the above statement towards Darnell Docket.

 

[mahoneybill]

Worked with a former Vikings SB / Pro Bowl WR who was in his early fifties at the time. On flat surfaces he was ok, and you didn't notice too much other than he walked very slowly. He couldn't walk stairs as it hurt his hips too much, and he shared that his knees where giving out also.

In his opinion just a matter of time before he had artificials to make it through stuff we take for granted.

 

[Dave_in-NC]

The reality is that there are thousands of Americans who spend their ENTIRE lives working extremely physical jobs that leave their bodies in shambles- and those jobs pay far less than the NFL and have little to no glory.

Darnell Docket can shut his pie hole and get a real job for all I care.

NFL players get paid handsomely, even the ones that spend their whole career warming the bench. The last thing I want to read is a crybaby article like the one Docket wrote.

I don't know Dockets situation but the bigger problem for some of these guys is they lose all they earned by being stupid with their money.
THEN they come out crying. I know a group of former players that are older, didn't make half the money some of these guys made but put an investment group together and did quite well. It all depends on smarts after their NFL days are over.
Most of these guys can hardly walk, but they take care of themselves quite nicely and understand it was all part of the job.

 

[jobberone]

They don't report concussions because it costs them money and maybe their careers. Don't forget it is a business. Don't forget it is a game. I would give a great deal to be able to go back and play even though I really KNOW the consequences. Hearing it MAY cause problems down the road at a young age is vastly different from KNOWING it later when one is more secular and perhaps more wise.

It is for love of the game more than money for most. It is a dream. Having and having the freedom to pursue dreams is a huge driving force for humans. Taking them away can be cruel. Voluntarily leaving them behind you can be extremely difficult if not seemingly impossible.

This is not a simple topic. There are many facets some opposing.

 

[NextGenBoys]

Reading everyone's posts has brought back memories of my dad when I was young. He was a carpenter and, like many of our dads, worked very hard... took overtime whenever he
could get it.. just worked himself, nearly, to death.... Now retired, he's had two knee replacements, three back surgeries, a shoulder reconstruction (and needs another one) and
just a life of constant pain... anyway, getting back to this thread and my opinion.... I find it difficult to sympathize with a man complaining about money when that man signed a contract
guaranteeing him $30 million.

Now, I don't what side of the "idiot" line I'm on, as someone has posted, but I was once told to follow the guaranteed money in a player's contract.... that money is his (minus taxing of course).
I don't know what the overall tax is on $30mil, but I'm pretty sure my family would still be taken care of for life.

The difference is we aren't putting 80,000 people in a stadium to watch us build a house or lay brick, and in the process putting millions upon millions of dollars in the pockets of the owners and the league.

It's an apples to oranges situation. Yes people work hard, but trying to compare the NFL to every day life is not a similar comparison.

 

[links18]

Players are well aware of the physical and mental risks that football brings to the table. If you're going to complain so much about it, then get out of the league and get a real job like the rest of us.

Heck, I am in constant pain anyway and I never played a down in the NFL.

 

[xwalker]

my dad has a metal cage in his lower back made it to journeyman brick mason

A metal cage? That sounds painful.

 

[RoboQB]

The difference is we aren't putting 80,000 people in a stadium to watch us build a house or lay brick, and in the process putting millions upon millions of dollars in the pockets of the owners and the league.

It's an apples to oranges situation. Yes people work hard, but trying to compare the NFL to every day life is not a similar comparison.

Not really... that's the trade off... an athlete that helps put 80,000 butts in seats is paid quite well to do so... now, if you want to discuss the long retired players that
can't walk or stand without assistance and have little or no insurance, that's different. Players in the 70s had offseason jobs.

Anyone who sides with a player crying about money, who has been guaranteed $30 million, is misinformed... How much did he pay for that house? How many cars does he have?
How many friends have leached onto this man?

Age is a factor in this thread... I'd be willing to bet that anyone over, say, 38 years old has an issue with Dockett's words.