On August 24th, 2019 Indianapolis Colts star quarterback, Andrew Luck retired from the NFL at the age of 29. His reasoning behind the abrupt retirement was based on the fact that he never seemed to not have an injury. In a press conference, he choked back tears as he stated “I’ve been stuck in this process.
I haven’t been able to live the life I want to live. It’s taken the joy out of this game. The only way forward for me is to remove myself from football. This is not an easy decision. It’s the hardest decision of my life. But it is the right decision for me.”
Back in 2012, Luck was the first overall draft pick which launched him into his seven season-long stint with the Colts. He was essentially picked as the quarterback to replace Peyton Manning, which made his especially popular with fans.
Unfortunately, at the time of his departure, these fans were no longer supportive of Luck and decided to ‘Boo’ all across the stadium. When asked about the reaction from fans, Luck took a long pause and simply stated that “It hurt.” One of the main reasons fueling this negative reaction stems from the infamous Fantasy Draft League.
Many sports commentators were also disappointed and went on to call Luck weak and soft. Sports analyst Doug Gottlieb took to Twitter and stated “Retiring cause rehabbing is “too hard” is the most millennial thing ever #AndrewLuck.” In Luck’s favor, fellow analyst Troy Aikman came to his defense by saying “What qualifies you to decide how someone should live their life? So, you’re now the authority on what motivates Andrew Luck? And if his decisions don’t fit into what you think is best for him then you rip him?”
Retiring cause rehabbing is “too hard” is the most millennial thing ever #AndrewLuck
— Doug Gottlieb (@GottliebShow) August 25, 2019
It seems to be a split reaction, some are spewing their hate and disappointment while others are supporting the fact that Luck has the right to make his own decisions. His departure may have been abrupt to some, but it wasn’t a split-second decision for Luck. He chose to walk away from millions of dollars in future contracts which he stood to get over the remainder of his career.
It is commendable that he chose to seriously take into account his health and well being over just money, fame, and endorsements. When asked what he planned on doing next, he gave the most surprising answer of all: “Honestly, I think I could be very happy teaching high school history.” It’s definitely not what anyone would have expected out of the extremely successful quarterback but if it makes him happy then we all just have to accept it.
We here at TUC wish Andrew Luck nothing but the best in his future endeavors.
