OK, so here’s what I’m not going to do – stand up on a pedestal and tell Tedy Bruschi what to do with the rest of his football career. That’s for him and his family to decide. End of story.
When the news broke that the Patriots linebacker was cleared by doctors to play after suffering a mild stroke last spring, my first reaction was elation. My second, more grounded reaction was fear.
As a fan, it’s easy to pull for him to return to the field. When you thought of who epitomized the Patriots Super Bowl teams during their ridiculous run of three championships in four seasons, it was Tom Brady on offense and Tedy Bruschi on defense. Bruschi was smart, rarely made mistakes and always seemed to be in the right place at the right time.
And as a fan, I know New England desperately needs him back. All the things the Patriots’ injury-ravaged defense lacks right now – leadership, big-play ability and toughness – are Bruschi’s calling-card qualities.
But if you take a step back and look at the Bruschi situation not as a fan, but as a human being, it’s hard not to worry. A stroke isn’t like a dislocated shoulder or a pulled hamstring – it’s not even in the same league. A stroke is a complicated ailment that affects the brain and motor functions. No football player has ever had a stroke and come back to have a productive career. That’s not to say that Bruschi couldn’t do it.
Sports are a deadly business, make no mistake about it. Particularly in contact sports, such as boxing, hockey and football, athletes die or get severely injured much more than you’d like to think. It’s a grim reality.
As recently a month ago, boxer Leavander Johnson died after suffering a brain injury from repeated blows to the head during a fight. Former Patriots quarterback (now QB of the Dallas Cowboys) Drew Bledsoe sustained a hit that caused severe internal bleeding in his chest. And all BU fans remember what happened to Travis Roy. The list could go on.
All of these tragic examples show that there’s an incredibly fine line between a clean play and potentially devastating or fatal injury in sports.
Look, Bruschi’s doctors are probably right. He could return to the field and the stroke won’t affect him at all. I’m no doctor, but in a sport like football where you get hit on the head virtually every play, to return to the field so soon following a stroke – it just doesn’t seem right.
If he wanted to, Bruschi could call it a career, no questions asked. He left the game on top, as a Super Bowl champion – a three-time champion, at that. He’s had a great career – 25 sacks, 16 forced fumbles, 11 interceptions and four defensive touchdowns. Some would say he’s Hall of Fame-bound. I could guarantee there would be a position waiting for him on the Patriots’ defensive staff, because who knows more about the defense than him?
But yesterday Bruschi himself said he is going to play this year. He could end up returning to the Patriots lineup and start in Week 9’s game against the Indianapolis Colts. He could lead the Patriots to victory, revive their struggling defense and single-handedly turn the season around. He could lead the team to another Super Bowl and then go on to have several more productive years in the NFL.
Most importantly, he could go through the rest of his life without the stroke affecting him.
I just pray that’s the case.