LB Russell Allen suffered a stroke in Week 15 and is being forced to retire.
By Mike Dyce
Football is a dangerous sport, and sometimes the toll it takes on your body forces a player to retire before they’re ready. Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Russell Wilson had to retire this season after a shocking injury suffered during Week 15 of the 2013, according to a pice from Robert Klemko for Sports Illustrated.
What felt like a routine concussion, Allen shrugged off and finished the game. He told trainers the following morning and had an MRI which revealed that he had suffered a stroke.
That injury has forced him to retire, and Allen has one message for other football players.
“Guys talk about it all the time,” Allen said. “ ‘I’m all right—I just got my bell rung.’ I’ve had, maybe 10 times in my career, when for a second I felt woozy after a hit. And what I’ve learned from this is that it’s not something to be overlooked. If it feels like something’s wrong, something’s wrong. I want someone to know my experience, so they can know when they experience something similar.”
Read the whole story over at Sports Illustrated, it really is fascinating and heartbreaking all at the same time.