Bart Scott: “I Don’t Want My Son to Play Football”

Sep 11, 2011; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo (9) is sacked by New York Jets linebacker Bart Scott (57) during the game at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Perlman/THE STAR-LEDGER via US PRESSWIRE

With the Dave Duerson and Junior Seau suicides, many current players are weighing in on the concussion situation, and whether or not they would like their kids to play football. Bart Scott did recently, and did so directly.  Here is what he told the Daily News in NY:

“I don’t want my son to play football,” Scott told the Daily News. “I play  football so he won’t have to. With what is going on, I don’t know if it’s really  worth it.”

Scott considers himself a lucky man, to be able to fulfill his dreams as a football player.  If it has been so good to him, why not his son?

“I don’t want to have to deal with him getting a concussion and what it would be  like later in life,” he said.  “He can play baseball. I really don’t want him boxing, either, even though he  wants to box. I won’t let him box. It’s not worth it. The most important thing  for me is him being around and me being able to spend a long time with him and  I’m sure, at the end of the day, all the things I’m able to buy him from playing  football, he’d much rather have me.”

He knows that as a parent, he is not going to be able to stop his child from doing whatever it is he wants to do, but Bart knows he is going to “…push other things in his face that may interest him.”

Bart says he is concerned about the impact football has had on his life and plans to get evaluated when his career is over. “I’m really going to have to pay attention to my body,” he said. “The brain is one thing, but also just healing up, making sure that I’m a healthy human being, whatever surgery I have to getto make sure I live a quality life, make sure that I can really flourish in my mid-years and my later years for my children.”

Every player is taking stock in what post NFL life is going to be life, after the recent suicides, and Bart Scott is no different.

“We have to figure out a way to help guys re-enter society,” Scott said. “It’s almost like you live in a fake world. This world doesn’t exist. Outside of this, 95% of the population doesn’t live like athletes or entertainers. You have to know what to do, you have to be secure in who you are. Don’t let football define you. You have to define it. It has to be something that you do, it can’t be everything you do, because when you walk away, you walk away with nothing. A lot of guys suffer with depression and they don’t know how to handle it. Football is a super macho sport and people don’t want to talk about their feelings.”

Clearly, Bart Scott feels strongly about this issue, as many other football players do. Some players have gotten a lot of grief for their opinion on this, but they are all entitled to it. They are talking about their health, and their families, and we cannot sit in judgement over that.