Bills CB Vontae Davis reportedly retires at halftime of game

[Soko]

55 minutes ago, SmittyBacall said:

Those two examples don’t fit what he described at all.

Alright, I wasn’t sure how literally you were taking the statement. 

When there’s a blown assignment or a guy covering for his team mate (Earl shading to Browner/Maxwell’s side for example), it’s usually impossible to know if he’s doing it by his own volition or if he’s making a mistake/coached to do that. So word for word, yeah, we don’t know if the reason the freelancing/covering is because of a lack of trust in a team mate, but the act itself does happen often.

[mcmurtry86]

22 hours ago, Uncle Buck said:

The NFL and the military are obviously not the same.  I didn't think I would have to explain that.  The same principle does apply here, however.  The point is that there is NO excuse for deserting your teammates in the middle of a battle.  It's reprehensible and shows a lack of character.

The NFL is just another job. If a cashier at McDonalds walks off the job mid shift is that also like the military? Or an accountant in a financial firm? Or a factory worker?

 

Most people who quit their jobs don't wait until the end of the day and, it might surprise you, but most employees "let their team down" when they quit. Someone else has to worked longer or harder to cover temporarily for the loss but life moves on. It's part of the working world. 

 

Comparing the NFL to the military, instead of other jobs, is laughable for what should be obvious reasons. 

[Uncle Buck]

3 hours ago, mcmurtry86 said:

The NFL is just another job. If a cashier at McDonalds walks off the job mid shift is that also like the military? Or an accountant in a financial firm? Or a factory worker?

 

Most people who quit their jobs don't wait until the end of the day and, it might surprise you, but most employees "let their team down" when they quit. Someone else has to worked longer or harder to cover temporarily for the loss but life moves on. It's part of the working world. 

 

Comparing the NFL to the military, instead of other jobs, is laughable for what should be obvious reasons. 

3

The NFL is just another job?  Last I heard, they didn't have a minimum salary of $480,000 for burger flippers at McDonald's.  I don't know any factory workers or accountants who make that much in their first year either.  While being a player in the NFL is technically a job, the financial rewards differentiate it from places like McDonald's.

As far as comparing the NFL to the military, I don't think it is completely laughable.  While I will give you that no other job is as dangerous as being a soldier in combat, players in the NFL do risk their short term, and as we are finding out more and more, their long-term health to play the game and earn those big paychecks. 

Finally, when it comes to employees letting their team down when they quit, it is customary in the job world to give your employer two weeks notice.   That two weeks gives the employer time to find and train a replacement so the other team members aren't forced to work harder and longer in your absence. 

Does it surprise me when people quit their job without giving two weeks notice?  Yes, it does.  It is not something I would do.  I would show enough consideration for my coworkers and for the employer who gave me the opportunity to earn a living, to at least give notice.  In a job that is much more rewarding financially, and where other coworkers (coaches, trainers, etc.) have their livelihood on the line if the team is not successful, it showed a great deal of selfishness on the part of Vontae Davis to just walk out in the middle of a game like a 16 year old kid who walks off in the middle of a shift at McDonalds.  NFL owners, coaches, and even the fans deserve better than that from a guy who was being paid what Vontae Davis was.  When Davis signed his contract and accepted those paychecks, he agreed to do his best to produce for his team.  To demonstrate such a total lack of consideration for these other people, it tells me there something is lacking in Mr. Davis' character.  It was a knucklehead move, pure and simple.

[buno67]

Yeah also him quiting like Costed Him a full game worth of pay and bonus money too. You think you at least tough it out to get all the money you can grt

[bzane]

Well, I for one was moved to tears by Vontae Davis's Heroic Last Stand; and feel certain that he'll surely go down in history with other brave men who have Fought to the Death against overwhelming odds!

[lavar703]

On 9/18/2018 at 12:26 PM, Uncle Buck said:

The NFL is just another job?  Last I heard, they didn't have a minimum salary of $480,000 for burger flippers at McDonald's.  I don't know any factory workers or accountants who make that much in their first year either.  While being a player in the NFL is technically a job, the financial rewards differentiate it from places like McDonald's.

As far as comparing the NFL to the military, I don't think it is completely laughable.  While I will give you that no other job is as dangerous as being a soldier in combat, players in the NFL do risk their short term, and as we are finding out more and more, their long-term health to play the game and earn those big paychecks. 

Finally, when it comes to employees letting their team down when they quit, it is customary in the job world to give your employer two weeks notice.   That two weeks gives the employer time to find and train a replacement so the other team members aren't forced to work harder and longer in your absence. 

Does it surprise me when people quit their job without giving two weeks notice?  Yes, it does.  It is not something I would do.  I would show enough consideration for my coworkers and for the employer who gave me the opportunity to earn a living, to at least give notice.  In a job that is much more rewarding financially, and where other coworkers (coaches, trainers, etc.) have their livelihood on the line if the team is not successful, it showed a great deal of selfishness on the part of Vontae Davis to just walk out in the middle of a game like a 16 year old kid who walks off in the middle of a shift at McDonalds.  NFL owners, coaches, and even the fans deserve better than that from a guy who was being paid what Vontae Davis was.  When Davis signed his contract and accepted those paychecks, he agreed to do his best to produce for his team.  To demonstrate such a total lack of consideration for these other people, it tells me there something is lacking in Mr. Davis' character.  It was a knucklehead move, pure and simple.

You or anyone else deserves nothing from Vontae Davis. He had enough and didn’t want to do it anymore. Nobody deserves any kind of explanation other than it’s just a job that he didn’t feel like working anymore. 

 

[Uncle Buck]

1 minute ago, lavar703 said:

You or anyone else deserves nothing from Vontae Davis. He had enough and didn’t want to do it anymore. Nobody deserves any kind of explanation other than it’s just a job that he didn’t feel like working anymore. 

 

 I disagree.  If he had played through the second half and then retired I would have no problem with that.  Just "not wanting to do it anymore" is no excuse for quitting on your team in the middle of a game.

[iknowcool]

On 9/18/2018 at 8:32 AM, mcmurtry86 said:

Most people who quit their jobs don't wait until the end of the day

I mean... that still doesn't make it a good look for them.  Straight up quitting and walking out of any job without proper notice isn't a good thing regardless if "most people" do it.

[lavar703]

2 minutes ago, Uncle Buck said:

 I disagree.  If he had played through the second half and then retired I would have no problem with that.  Just "not wanting to do it anymore" is no excuse for quitting on your team in the middle of a game.

Sure it is. How much better would it be for him to be out there in the second half just mailing it in because he doesn’t care? I mean, sure he quit on his team but at the end of the day does it really matter? It’s just like any other human being who decides one day he doesn’t want to work his job anymore and walks out. It literally happens everyday all over the planet. As a matter of fact it just happened at my job with someone I work directly with yesterday lol. 

[Uncle Buck]

11 minutes ago, lavar703 said:

Sure it is. How much better would it be for him to be out there in the second half just mailing it in because he doesn’t care? I mean, sure he quit on his team but at the end of the day does it really matter? It’s just like any other human being who decides one day he doesn’t want to work his job anymore and walks out. It literally happens everyday all over the planet. As a matter of fact it just happened at my job with someone I work directly with yesterday lol. 

There is a quality that is becoming all too rare these days.  It is a quality known as "character".  When a man has character, he is able to go out on the field and play at a high level even if he no longer wants to continue.  Instead of just following his emotions, character enables him to do what is right.  All too often these days we hear phrases like "you have to look out for number one", or "just do what feels good", etc.  I believe that deep down, everyone knows right from wrong.  Doing the right thing is not always easy, but if you are a man of character, you do the right thing, even when it's hard, or even if it is not in your best interest.  Contrary to what some people think, character DOES matter.  Quitting on your team at halftime shows a lack of character.   There is no getting around that.

[SteelKing728]

On 9/18/2018 at 12:38 PM, bzane said:

Well, I for one was moved to tears by Vontae Davis's Heroic Last Stand; and feel certain that he'll surely go down in history with other brave men who have Fought to the Death against overwhelming odds!

Dude where have you been?!?

[JaguarCrazy2832]

On 9/19/2018 at 7:09 PM, Uncle Buck said:

 I disagree.  If he had played through the second half and then retired I would have no problem with that.  Just "not wanting to do it anymore" is no excuse for quitting on your team in the middle of a game.

Agree 100%. If he retired mid-season no one would really care. People are counting on your right then and there and its a really sucky thing to do to them. Imagine if the lead doctor that did his core surgery a few years ago quit halfway through his surgery because he just didn't feel like finishing? I mean yea, the medical team went in with a plan to fix his injury, everyone had their job to do but nah the surgeon just bails halfway through. Let the others finish this up, I'm done. Once you sign up for your next performance you deliver start to finish and then decide on the next one. Dont half arse it. 

[Dome]

On 9/17/2018 at 6:31 AM, Uncle Buck said:

Do that in the military and you will be shot.

Well thank god he's just a football player.

 

We've all seen guys on the field who have quit on their team and are just phoning it in. It's really no better than just leaving IMO. At least he has the integrity to say "I'm done" rather than collecting his paycheck while not really caring about what happens to his teammates season when he's out there not caring about his job. The timing wasn't good and he 100% should've waited until after the game. But IMO you're blowing it up a bit, at the end of the day these are a bunch of men playing a game for a living. They're entertainers. Trying to make serious moral judgements about how these guys handle their playing careers just don't really resonate with me, military comparisons are straight up silly. 

[bzane]

10 hours ago, SteelKing728 said:

Dude where have you been?!?

Ahhhh- I, uh, had to go away for a while.........the whole thing was a huge mistake. I was sort of in the wrong place with the wrong people at the wrong time. Still: Cost me 4 months out of my life that I'll never get back. What the hey! The doctors were real nice to me, and I'm like a totally different person now!

[Uncle Buck]

2 hours ago, Dome said:

Well thank god he's just a football player.

 

We've all seen guys on the field who have quit on their team and are just phoning it in. It's really no better than just leaving IMO. At least he has the integrity to say "I'm done" rather than collecting his paycheck while not really caring about what happens to his teammates season when he's out there not caring about his job. The timing wasn't good and he 100% should've waited until after the game. But IMO you're blowing it up a bit, at the end of the day these are a bunch of men playing a game for a living. They're entertainers. Trying to make serious moral judgements about how these guys handle their playing careers just don't really resonate with me, military comparisons are straight up silly. 

My point in bringing up the comparison to the military wasn't to say that this should be handled in the same way.  Rather, I was just identifying a group in our society where character and accountability are still held in very high regard.