Jermichael Finley says he plans to play football again despite suffering a serious spinal cord injury two weeks ago that sent him to ICU and left many wondering if he would be able to regain full motion in his body.
The Green Bay Packers tight end wrote a firsthand account of what happened to him in the team’s Week 7 win over the Cleveland Browns when he got hurt. Writing for SI’s Monday Morning Quarterback section, Finley shares with readers a chilling account of what it was like laying on the field and having to be carted off on a stretcher. He says he could not move most of his body and wondered if the hit was karma for all he had done wrong. He shared what it was like seeing the fear in teammate Andrew Quarless’ eyes.
Finley says he has a disability insurance policy that could pay out $10 million if he never plays again, so he’s not worried about his finances. But he isn’t planning to cash in on that policy.
Of course I plan to play football again. This is what I love to do. I love the game. I love Sundays. Based on the feedback I’ve received from doctors at this point, the question is not if I’ll play again, but when. There is no better feeling in the world than making the “Lambeau Leap” into the stands, and I fully intend on having that surreal feeling again soon. I will do everything in my power to rehab and get back to the player I have been, and improve into the player I know I can be.
Finley admits he has fear and that he is still recovering. He describes his injury as being in a bad car accident from which he is healing little by little.
I’m sure there are many people who will advise him to walk away from the game after that situation, but if he wants to play and doctors clear him, that’s his decision. We also know that weeks before the injury, Finley said his son asked him to stop playing. This is exactly why.
