NFL players fight through injuries all the time. Just ask Patrick Mahomes, who’s set to play in the Super Bowl just three weeks after suffering a high-ankle sprain. Then there’s also Dallas Cowboys star Micah Parsons, who has missed just one game in his young NFL career, and it wasn’t due to injury. In other words, if Parsons has gotten hurt, he’s never let it impact his ability to suit up on game day.
We’re going to quickly shift gears over to the NBA, where Gary Payton II was recently traded from the Portland Trail Blazers to the Golden State Warriors just minutes ahead of the trade deadline. You’ll see why this is relevant to Parsons and the NFL soon enough.
While the NBA trade deadline has since passed, the trade for Payton II has been put on hold due to concerns over his health. Payton II reportedly had been battling an injury during his time in Portland, but the Trail Blazers were apparently insisting he fights through the pain with the aid of Toradol shots or pain-killing injections. This was completely unknown to the Warriors during trade discussions.
How does this have anything to do with Parsons and the NFL? Well, the two-time All-Pro defender made a point to get himself involved in the action via social media.
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Micah Parsons stirs up controversy on Twitter
Here was Parsons’ response to the report about the Trail Blazers insisting their athlete fight through pain to continue playing basketball.
This is far from the first time we’ve heard speculation of NFL training staff doing their best to keep athletes on the field instead of nursing an injury on the sidelines. And it’s sure to be far from the last time we hear about it, either.
It’s certainly not a new phenomenon, and if Parsons, who has been in the NFL for just two seasons, has already experienced it, chances are he’s not wrong about 95% of the league’s training staffs taking the same approach ignoring a player’s health in an attempt to keep their bosses happy.
Either way, the NFL likely doesn’t appreciate one of their young stars speaking out about one of the uglier sides of the business, especially when they do their best to tout the league’s improving player safety.
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