In week 2, Vontae Davis, a 10-year NFL pro bowl veteran, retired at halftime. Near the end of the first half, he pulled himself out of the game. At halftime, he took off his football uniform and pads. He informed the coaching staff that he was done, retiring. He walked out and never returned. In a subsequent statement, he said that his body was no longer able to perform to NFL standards. Since retiring, Vontae has been the subject of ridicule by commentators and critics alike. They say he quit on his team.
Joe’s Perspective: Last year my eldest daughter wanted to play volleyball. She made the team and played. She hated it. She wanted to quit. I wouldn’t let her. The reasons were 1) her commitment to the team 2) it set a bad precedent for her life. I get it. However, in Vontae’s situation, I take a different position.
While I have never heard of this type of situation before, I have heard of many athletes or employees who simply “phone it in,” meaning they take the money and give a half-hearted effort. This, to me, is unethical. Vontae, on the other hand, was honest. He couldn’t do it anymore. He could have played out his $5 million contract with minimal effort or a subpar performance. Instead, he chose to hang it up, for good. He gave us his contract and he made room for someone who could credibly do the job better. He actually prioritized the team over his family. It’s been easy to criticize him, but I want to give him some credit.
Your Turn: Should Vontae get criticism for quitting on his team or credit for his honesty?
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I think he should not have gotten criticism because he felt he couldn’t fill the standards
I think he should of waited to the end of the game at least. I understand if he thought he was dragging the team down or he was going to get hurt.
I completely agree with the written perspective, he wasn’t quitting on his team, he was sacrificing himself so the team could be better. Leaving meant he lost all his money from his contract but it didn’t matter, he cared too much about the greatness and success of the team so he had to leave.
This guy seemed to be making an ethical decision by leaving his team to make room for someone more passionate than he was. He gave up his contract which allowed that money to be spent elsewhere and another football player to get playing time.
Honestly I see the reasoning in his decision because he didn’t want to be playing so if he leaves that opens up a new spot for a younger corner who is hungry for the spot. Also his contract would be terminated so that money could be used to pay someone else who could play his position even better than him.
When you arwanna being payed 5 million dollars a year, it is hard to give it up. Davis decided to be honest with himself and the team. It was very good integrity.
I think Vontae’s behavior in this situation is not acceptable. If he wasn’t prepared to finish the season or the game he should not have even started. It’s best that he did quit because he wasn’t giving all his effort, but by starting a season or even a game with a team is a commitment between you, your teammates, and your coaches that you will give your all the whole time. He shouldn’t not have started the season if he wasn’t ready to finish it. He caused problems for the coaching staff and his teammates mid-game due to his lack of effort, which is not acceptable. Don’t start a game with 100% effort, if you aren’t prepared to finish it with 100% effort.
He should get criticized because he left his team after they haven’t won a game yet and were losing badly. He put his team in a worse situation by leaving mid game.After being with them almost everyday since summer he Abandoned his teammates
I think he made a sacrifice. He wanted the best for his team and felt like he was dragging them down. However I feel as if he could’ve waited until after the game to do this.
I think Vontae should get credit for honesty and should still get criticizism for quiting on his team. I think he should get credit for honesty because he knew that he wasn’t capable of full filling a position, so he stopped and is now giving somebody else a chance to play that will meet the standards of the NFL. But on the other hand I think he should still get criticized for doing this because it’s not right to quit on your team and walk out when you are not capable of doing a job. Also, because all of the players on the field and on the team are still relying on you to do your share of work to become successful.
Vontae is letting a lot of his teammates down and setting a bad example. Therefore he should be criticized.
I agree with his perspective, if he was unable to perform then it was just dead weight for the team and he did what he believed in. If he continued playing he could have gotten injured for life and it would have been worse than the hate he got for retiring.
Vontae should be given credit for his honesty. This is because instead of playing effortless and keep taking 5 million he gave it to another player who he though could play better than him.
I think Vontae should get credit for being honest to his coaches because it is better than him not showing up to practices and games and then his coaches wandering where he is. But I also feel he quit on his team because it didn’t tell us if he told his teammates he was quitting or if he just did it because he didn’t feel like playing anymore.