As sports fans, we love stories about guys playing through injuries. “What a tough guy,” we say, “she gutted it out for the team.” Injured players suiting up for the big game become legends. Michael Jordan’s flu game. Keri Strug’s vault on a badly sprained ankle. Tiger Woods winning the 2008 U.S. Open with a broken leg and torn ACL. Curt Schilling’s bloody sock. Kirk Gibson hobbling around the basepath after a World Series pinch hit walkoff. And the list goes on. They’ve all etched their names in sports history for fighting through the pain.
But should they have suited up? Should they have been on the field in the first place?
Every case should be evaluated on its own merits, but my general feeling is that no, players shouldn’t play hurt.
For every one of those legendary stories, I’d bet there are three people who battled through as much or more pain that we don’t remember. What did they get out of it? A shot at a big win or a title? Maybe. More pain and problems down the road? Probably.
And when was the last time a team showed the same level of commitment and loyalty to a player as that player showed the team? For a team legend, perhaps (but I’d suggest even those decisions are motivated by things other than any commitment to the player). Teams chew players up, wear out their bodies, and spit them out when they can no longer perform. It’s a cold, harsh reality that fans refuse to acknowledge.
For the majority of athletes, their body is their only valuable asset. They need to protect it and look out for themselves. When they play hurt, they put that asset on the line, and for what? As I said, every case is different, and if it’s just a case of pain tolerance where there isn’t much of a risk of further injury, then I’m somewhat more play with it. But even that has it’s limits — addiction to painkillers is a very real thing that athletes should be concerned about.
As a former athlete, I get it. You want to play. It’s what you do, it’s what you know, it’s who you are. You want to be there for your teammates. I’m fine with adults taking calculated risks if they completely understand their situation, but with all the external pressures athletes face, I wonder if that “informed decision” is even possible.
It’s all a bit cynical from me, I know. But I’m tired of the scales always tipping in favor of the teams. Teams are companies; they are created entities that make money hand over fist. Players are people. They have lives, families, hopes, dreams, pains, and everything else. We have much more in common with them than we do with the teams we support. It’s long past time we realize that and act accordingly.
The Lukewarm Take 