Former Jacksonville Jaguars and Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle Eugene Monroe retired from the NFL earlier this summer.
His decision to call it quits after seven largely successful seasons in the league was based on the widespread issues he’s seen relating to head trauma in the NFL.
Monroe, who spoke out in favor of medical marijuana prior to his retirement, has continued to take the league on publicly. It’s one of the reasons some believe he was released by Baltimore prior to retiring.
Now, months after hanging up his cleats, Monroe is making it known that he’s not willing to let his son suit up and play youth football.
“On the surface, I would love for my son to enjoy the game I love. But I can answer the question by assessing my current physical state from head to toe, inside and out,” Monroe wrote in a column on The Cannabist recently. “As I trace my body, there’s no shortage of chaos directly resulting from football. But still, these things aren’t enough to deny him our country’s greatest game.”
The NFL gave Monroe a vast amount of fortune during his playing days. The former top-10 pick earned $37.7 million in seven seasons. It’s also rather obvious that he enjoyed the game growing up.
Interestingly, Monroe is one of the few recent NFL players to speak out against the league’s dependence on painkillers over cannabis to help those impacted overcome head trauma (more on that here).
“However, living with headaches that are eerily similar to my last concussion is a great reminder and gives me more than enough reason to say, “No, son. I cannot knowingly allow you to destroy your brain.” This decision hurts my heart.” Monroe continued, “But it is the right one until we can establish proper protections for football players’ heads.”
It’s a bit odd to see someone that’s less than a calendar year removed from playing in the NFL talk about the sport of football in this manner. It’s also an indication that Monroe himself will continue his activism now that he’s separated himself from the game.
Whether other former or current players follow his lead remains to be seen. But we’re pretty sure this very same thought process has run through the minds of those still suiting up on Sundays.