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Vonte Davis story on ESPN...Full scoop on his halftime retirement decision


StHustle

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He was benched for the start of a game in 2010 for breaking an unspecified team rule, and the next year he was suspended a game for arriving late and hungover to practice. The media labeled him immature and problematic, which bothered Davis.

"I'm 23 years old," he says today. "Who's never shown up to work hungover once? Only difference is I'm in the public eye."

 

I think a bigger difference is we aren't paid for our athletic prowess.  Taking care of our body isn't a pre-requisite for performance sitting at my desk.

 

In a weird way this article made me like his decision less.  I'm sure it was supposed to show him as a sympathetic character but I don't really see that.  

 

"There's this perception that there's brotherhood in the NFL and we're all fighting for each other and the same things," Megan says. "And then you embarrass one of your first-round draft picks on national television without him knowing there's a camera in the room?"

 

I can easily change that second sentence to "and then you quit on your team at halftime?"

 

"I feel like I was demoted because of my health instead of my ability," he told reporters by his locker, explaining that he felt disrespected by how Pagano handled the situation. 

 

Almost like your health affected your ability?  I don't even get why he is pulling the martyr card here...

 

bleh.  I really didn't care that he did what he did.  I would rather have someone quit than give half effort but own it.  Don't make excuses for it.  Say I was washed and I was a liability out there, sit on the sideline or even in the locker room until the end of the game, and talk to your team mates to explain yourself.  Seeing this article actually made me think much worse of his decision than before...

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3 hours ago, StHustle said:

An interesting article on exactly how it went down and what led up to that day...

 

https://es.pn/303G7A5
 

Quote

"I'm 23 years old," he says today. "Who's never shown up to work hungover once? Only difference is I'm in the public eye."

 

I never have even once.  Shown up without sleep for a week yes but never hung over.

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4 hours ago, Royale with Cheese said:

If you're done, you at least finish the game with the team.  If you can't play, fine.  But at least say goodbye to your teammates.  He couldn't stay for another 90-120 minutes?

 

 

The above...what Royale said.

 

Because otherwise there is no excuse at all and I am not interested in whatever he serves up...or his wife serves up, for that matter.  

Edited by dollars 2 donuts
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3 hours ago, LeGOATski said:

That's his wife saying that. She's not too keen on the actual happenings in the league. The Bills had one good season just prior to that. I don't blame her at all for her impressions of the Bills. The new regime is still trying to solidify the org's new reputation.

 

Yes the Bills have a bad reputation and the fans are a good part of reason.

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3 hours ago, LeGOATski said:

That's his wife saying that. She's not too keen on the actual happenings in the league. The Bills had one good season just prior to that. I don't blame her at all for her impressions of the Bills. The new regime is still trying to solidify the org's new reputation.

Jim Kelly cried when we drafted him.

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Snippet from article on BillsWire by Nick Wojton:

---

Within that, Davis’ wife, Megan, says she was completely against him joining the Bills. Not because of his health which led to his retirement, instead because of the organization.

“I absolutely wanted to stay away from Buffalo,” Megan Davis said. “The organization just didn’t have a great reputation. When you’re in the league, you hear things, and records show things.”

“I didn’t know why he chose Buffalo,” she continued...

---

 

Bolded is mine...anyone happen to know what she's referring to, specifically? That's a very strange thing to say.

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What was telling to me was the claim that he and his wife discussed that Buffalo was not a “good” team to go to.  The comment certainly plays to those who say Buffalo has trouble getting free agents to come.  

 

There is no correct “side” as the basis for the statement is opinion.

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"He felt scared and vulnerable, and he wasn't sure what to do -- all he knew was that he couldn't return to the field. He needed to get away. ... In that moment, when he realized football was no longer his purpose, he was overwhelmed. So he trusted his gut to leave the field."

 

Classic fight-or-flight reaction to an anxiety/panic attack. Nothing else explains why he'd leave in the *middle* of a game. What's sad is, he scoffs at the "warrior mentality" of his teammates when he's the one who can't step out of that mentality to admit a mental health issue.

 

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4 hours ago, RU5781 said:

WTF is this???

 

But those closest to him had reservations.

"I absolutely wanted to stay away from Buffalo," Megan says. "The organization just didn't have a great reputation. When you're in the league, you hear things, and records show things."

 

Nearly Two decades of mismanagement will do that. I think it’s changing now. 

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My friend's brother is a scout for the Colts.

 

Around the end of January 2018, we were talking about some random football stuff.  I recall asking him about the upcoming QB prospects, what he thought about Kirk Cousins in free agency, and a bunch of other things.

 

One thing he mentioned was the importance of player attitude, and he just happened to bring up Vontae Davis as an example.  "Good football player," he said.  "Bad locker room guy."  I probably would have completely forgotten about this.  But about a month later, the Bills went and signed Davis.  Of course, the rest is history...

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5 hours ago, RU5781 said:

WTF is this???

 

But those closest to him had reservations.

"I absolutely wanted to stay away from Buffalo," Megan says. "The organization just didn't have a great reputation. When you're in the league, you hear things, and records show things."

You're surprised that Buffalo has a bad reputation around the league and players who have no connection to upstate NY whatsoever would be leery of going there?

 

Where you been since the turn of the 21st century?

 

 

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3 hours ago, TigerJ said:

I'm a retired pastor.  Late in my career, I was at a small church that was having financial challenges.  To ease the pressure on them, I took a second church that was very small.  I was three years away from my expected retirement, but I told that second church, "If it works out and you want me, I promise I will serve as your pastor for five years."  I did that because very small churches in my United Methodist Church normally get the leftovers in our appointment system, part time pastors who are gone after a year or two.  This church had been experiencing that for many years.  I figured they deserved a little continuity with a pastor who knew what he was doing.  After three years, I took my pension, and could have moved on to my retirement, but kept my word, staying two more years serving part time.  The last eight months I had to commute 75 miles for every Sunday service, meeting or visit with a member in his/her home, hospital or nursing home.  I figured that if I made a promise, I needed to keep it.  I find it a bit difficult to have sympathy for a guy who quits at halftime.  That said, it's water under the bridge.  I hope Davis feels fulfilled in his life, whatever he's doing.

 

...thank you for sharing..it's all about commitment....and circumstances do arise where you can no longer honor that commitment....but there is a right way and wrong way to announce you can no longer do so.....his actions are analogous to you starting your sermon with "I quit" and walking out of a full church.....wrong way IMO....

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This puffy spin piece is nauseating. Page after page of whiney navel gazing. Not one word of accountability, or even an acknowledgment of how he did, in fact, let his teammates, the Bills organization, and the fans down. The closest it comes is the statement: "At the moment, they were obviously pretty upset," Davis says. "I get it from their perspective. It's such a warrior mentality," which is followed by "And looking back, it's one of the best decisions I've made in my life, honestly," he says. "Because I did something that I knew was the best thing for me."

Gross.

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