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Antwaan Randle El thinks football will be gone in 20, 25 years

By Andy Erk

Dec 20, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; A Pittsburgh Steelers helmet sits on a sideline trunk during the game against the Denver Broncos in the second quarter at Heinz Field. The Steelers won 34-27. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 20, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; A Pittsburgh Steelers helmet sits on a sideline trunk during the game against the Denver Broncos in the second quarter at Heinz Field. The Steelers won 34-27. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /
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Antwaan Randle El thinks football will be gone in 20 to 25 years.

“If I could go back, I wouldn’t play football,” says Antwaan Randle El in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Randle El, a former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver, has joined the ranks of players who have spoken out against playing football.

This statement comes ten years after Randle El had one of the most noteworthy touchdown passes in Superbowl XL that lead the Steelers to a victory over the Seattle Seahawks. He was no slouch in the NFL, as he was a featured player for that Steelers team. Being a star comes with a large focus of opposing defenses on the routes he was running. Even being keyed on by opposing defenses, it comes as a shock that he is having serious health issues before 40.

Randle El has begun to noticed emotional and physical slipping’s in his every day life, as reported in the Post-Gazette, “I’ll ask her three times the night before and get up in the morning and forget. Stuff like that. I try to chalk it up as I’m busy, I’m doing a lot, but I have to be on my knees praying about it, asking God to allow me to not have these issues and live a long life. I want to see my kids raised up. I want to see my grandkids.”

With such shocking insight on his mental standing, it poses the question if Randle El regrets playing football?

“If I could go back, I wouldn’t,” he said. “I would play baseball. I got drafted by the Cubs in the 14th round, but I didn’t play baseball because of my parents. They made me go to school. Don’t get me wrong, I love the game of football. But, right now, I could still be playing baseball,” according to the Post-Gazette.

This comes as a shock coming from a guy who had a long NFL and college career that was successful. Since retirement, Randle El has focused on his foundation, using it to start up a Christian school in Virginia. The school initially had football, but decided to drop football from its slew of sports, according to the Post-Gazette.

“The kids are getting bigger and faster, so the concussions, the severe spinal cord injuries, are only going to get worse,” he said. “It’s a tough pill to swallow because I love the game of football. But I tell parents, you can have the right helmet, the perfect pads on, and still end up with a paraplegic kid.”

With Randle El’s experience he has every reason to justify dropping football at the school. He also accepts that nothing is going to change the injuries in football.

“There’s no correcting it. There’s no helmet that’s going to correct it,” according to the Post-Gazette.

As for the future of the game, well, Randle El isn’t optimistic, according to the Post-Gazette, “Right now, I wouldn’t be surprised if football isn’t around in 20, 25 years.”

Hopefully Randle El is wrong, but the general consensus seems to point to football being in serious trouble.

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