Andrew Luck Has Gotten A Bad Rap

As a doctor, former high school football player, and father, I completely understand and support his decision to retire

Source: Keith Allison from Hanover, MD, USA [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)]

The decision was shocking. Andrew Luck, 29, quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts, abruptly announced his retirement from the NFL. He is seemingly at the pinnacle of his career, and he is leaving behind millions of dollars that were due to be paid to him. He cited his the tremendous toll on his health:

He is leaving football because football ground him down. Like so many who play it, Luck — one of the game’s best quarterbacks — had given football a good deal of his physical well-being. According to The Athletic’s Colts reporter Zak Keefer, Luck, over the six seasons of his pro career, had suffered ‘torn cartilage in two ribs, a partially torn abdomen, a lacerated kidney, at least one concussion, a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder,’ and most recently, a calf and ankle injury, which had kept him out of the team’s preseason action.

I completely understand and support his decision, not only as a doctor, but as a father and a former high school football player myself.

The average NFL career is 3.3 years. The average life expectancy for a male in the United States…