The following is a transcript of the sports commentary by Ken Hartman that was heard on the Saturday morning sports show ‘Inside the Huddle’. The show is heard every Saturday morning on WILO AM & FM from 9-10 a.m.
With everyone still trying to dissect the reason Andrew Luck announced his retirement from the Colts last Saturday evening, they probably need to look no further than comments made this week by former New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski.
At a press conference where Gronkowski said he was in constant pain as he made a very poignant and emotional statement – basically the same statement Luck is being widely criticized for by Colts fans. Gronkowski was not chastised as Luck was.
On his retirement in March, Gronkowski said, “I needed to recover. I was not in a good place, Football was bringing me down, and I didn’t like it. I was losing that joy in life.”
After the Patriots won Super Bowl 53, Gronkowski said he could barely walk after the game due to a thigh bruise. He slept for five minutes while crying in his bed that night. Those sleep struggles persisted for about a month.
Last Saturday night, Luck said “I’m in pain, I’m still in pain. It’s been four years of this pain, rehab cycle. It’s a myriad of issues – calf strain, posterior ankle impingement, high ankle sprain. Part of my journey going forward will be figuring out how to feel better.”
During his press conference, it was clear that the endless barrage of injuries had stripped away his joy for the game and prompted him to walk away so he could enjoy the life he wants. This doesn’t include a lacerated kidney and other injuries that weren’t listed on the weekly injury report. He played with those injuries.
Luck and Gronkowski both retired at age 29. Both players still had prime years left in their football lives. However, with these retirements, it just adds to an increasing lengthy list of those athletes who have retired far too soon. Take a gander at some of the names on this list who retired early and didn’t blink an eye.
Detroit Lions running back Barry Sanders – played only 10 NFL seasons from 1989 to 1998 and is currently ranked third in all-time rushing yards behind Emmitt Smith and Walter Payton. He was 31.
Cleveland Browns legend Jim Brown – only played nine seasons (1957 to 1965) and was only 29 years old when he retired and was still in his prime. He was healthy and wanted to leave football on his own terms, which he did.
Houston Oilers/New Orleans Saints running back Earl Campbell – retired from football in 1985 before his 31st birthday. In his first three years in the league, Campbell was named the NFL Offensive Player of the Year (1978-1980) and led the NFL in rushing for three straight years. He rushed for 9,407 yards and scored 74 touchdowns in his career.
Chicago Bears running back Gayle Sayers – played from 1965-1971 before bad knee injuries forced him to retire at the age of 28 after just seven years in the NFL. Sayers was a five-time All-Pro pick, a member of the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team and was also on the NFL 1960’s All-Decade Team. He was the 1965 NFL Rookie of the Year when he scored 22 touchdowns when the league played just 14 regular season games.
Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson – was 30 years old when he retired in 2015. Injuries largely contributed to his decision to retire. He was a six-time Pro Bowler who twice led the NFL in receiving yards.
Colts strong safety Bob Sanders, who retired in 2011 at age 30 after spending just two of his eight years in the league playing more than six games in a single season. He finished his last four NFL seasons on injured reserve. He was the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2007.
There are other athletes who could be added to this list from other sports such as tennis legend Bjorn Borg who retired at 26, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax, who retired at 30 and Boston Bruins legend Bobby Orr, who retired at 31. The one constant to all of these players is injuries which took the joy of playing away from all of them. Borg did return to the tennis court in 1991, but was not near the player he once was and retired for good in 1993.
What all of these players had in common was an insatiable desire to compete at a very high level – meaning being as strong or stronger mentally than physically. Less than 100 percent in both of those categories meant failure and disappointment.
What we can take away from all of this is major shortcomings with the Colts franchise, particularly the ones in charge of player personnel (drafting poorly, lack of quality free agents and lack of solid backup players), strength and conditioning coaches (key players seemingly always got hurt at the wrong time) and just a general dysfunction in the front office led by owner Jim Irsay.
The real tragedy here is the way fans treated Luck as he walked off the field at Lucas Oil Stadium for the final time. He was booed by fans who didn’t understand or care about the reasons behind his retirement as well probably making sure that no top free agent would want to ever play for the Colts.
Will we look at this time in our lives and say this was the beginning when all pro sports players will start to retire earlier in their lives? The answer will more than likely be affirmative.
One last thought. According to the annual High School Athletics Participation Survey conducted by the National Federation of State High School Associations, overall participation in high school sports declined for the first time in 30 years. A major contributor in that statistic is that football declined by over nearly 31,000 participants which is the lowest mark since the 1999-2000 school year.
Ken Hartman is the host of ‘Inside the Huddle’.