Vontae Davis leaving the Bills like that makes him a great American hero

Buffalo quarterback Bills Vontae Davis retired at half-time in a defeat against the Chargers on Sunday. Remote from the game, right in the middle of one. Twitter's suckhole internet people split into two camps on the subject.

1. He left his team. L & # 39; team. TEAM!
2. He just did not have it anymore, and that's good.

There is a third consideration here. What Davis did is really great. It's kind of the American dream for a lot of people, a fantasy of the working class, the chance to leave his stable job that makes you unhappy … taking care not to just burn the bridge with your employer, but to take a nap out of the doorway, the middle finger waving while your colleagues applaud.

Davis did not retire at halftime because he was tired of working for the Bills. That's what it was like at the time, except for Davis and his coaches. Davis left the game because his body could not stand it anymore.

From his official statement:

But today on the ground, the reality strikes me quickly and strongly: I should not be there anymore.

I did not want to disrespect my teammates and coaches. But I stand at a standard. Mentally, I'm still waiting to play at a high level. But physically, I know today that this is not possible, and I had an honest moment with myself. While I was on the field, I did not feel well and told the coaches, "I do not feel like me."

Football requires a player that he sacrifices his body, his health in the long run. Because of this, you can not blame a player for knowing when to get away from him, whether at age 41, 25 or at half-time in a unilateral loss to Philip Rivers and the Chargers.

And as strange as it must have been to the rest of his Bills teammates and coaches, I have to respect Davis's name for recognizing this fact and being honest about it.

I also asked myself: do I want to continue sacrificing?

And sincerely, I do not do it because the season is long and it is more important that my family and I go back healthy than to voluntarily embrace the warrior mentality and move away too late.

As the league continues to face the health crisis facing its players, Davis's lesson is when to give up the warrior mentality and be honest with his body and his game. – is equally important for players to live longer and healthier than rule changes aimed at eliminating the most dangerous blows of the sport.

But again, let's not overlook the fact that Davis recognized this thing in the middle of a hell of a game and made his decision on the spot. It's awesome like hell.

Health and safety aside, knowing when to bail out and pull the strings, that the timing is right takes a commitment and a brutal honesty. Most people will never have the chance to do it. Most people can not afford to do that, that's what almost triggered a riot in a crowded Buckhorn Bar when I saw Johnny Paycheck close with his opus, "Take this job and shoot there is a time.

No experience comes down to leaving a job, especially when you do it unexpectedly. It is an act of self-determination that rarely occurs due to societal constraints and cultural norms (and also a lot of bullshit with Darwinist programming of American capitalism).

We are stuck in jobs because of that. If this is not the brutal financial reality that most people are facing, then the mentality is not to give up, no matter what the cost … or a combination of both.

Hence the fantasy of entering the boss's office, shouting "WU TANG MOTHER FUCKER!" And going out the door. We want to do it because we can not.

My point here is not to call for greater union representation, stronger teeth for the OSHA application, a better social safety net or if Davis was right or not to leave the game as he did. did.

I just want to applaud Vontae Davis for living the dream.