By Bob Smizik | Wednesday, 12:30 a.m.
A poignant drama has been playing out the past 10 days or so inside the mighty and all-consuming drama that is the Steelers and the National Football League season.
To play or not to play? That is the question Steelers free safety Ryan Clark has been weighing since the NFL schedule was announced in the spring.
Does he take the field in Denver Monday night in a crucial AFC game against the once-beaten Broncos? Or does he sit this one out?
The last time Clark played in Denver the Steelers lost the game and he almost lost his life.
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lark has sickle cell trait, which makes it dangerous for him to play in high altitude. When the Steelers played in Denver on Oct. 21, 2007, Clark’s blood reacted so poorly in the thin air that he became violently ill after the game. The result of that illness was he had his spleen and gall bladder removed and he lost 30 pounds. He did not play again that season.
At his news conference yesterday coach Mike Tomlin said, Clark has ``received medical clearance to play in this football game.’’
I’m certain Clark finds that reassuring. The Steelers medical staff is first rate. But knowing what he knows, knowing what he went through the last time the Steelers played in Denver and knowing that anything can happen, he understandably remains concerned. He can’t think just about himself. He has a wife and three children.
This isn’t a knee or an ankle. This could be his life.
With the game five days away, neither Clark nor the Steelers have said whether he’ll play.
``The decision lies with him and myself,’’ Tomlin said. ``We’re going to weigh all our options and evaluate things as we proceed throughout the week.’’
That sounds, and this is just a guess, like Clark is probably going to play. If he were not, Tomlin likely would have ruled him out of the game yesterday and the Steelers could have got down to the business of preparing for the Broncos without him.
I hope I’m reading that wrong because I don’t think Clark should play. I understand the Steelers medical staff would not have given him clearance if it felt there were great risk. I also understand Clark will be monitored closely as the game progresses, something that was not done the last time because no one had an idea he would have such trouble in high altitude.
But there’s too much at stake here.
And beyond that, It’s time for someone to stand up and say a football game isn’t worth this. Yes, it’s important and, yes, Clark wants to play. He’s a ferocious competitor. Small as football players go -- 5-foot-11, 205 pounds -- he is fearless on the field and an integral part of a great defense.
He needs sit this one mainly for himself and his family. But he also needs to sit it out to send a message to the thousands of kids, high school players and even college players who willingly and recklessly too often risk their health to suit up for a game.
Clark needs to tell the world that football is second to your health. Football is a chapter in your life. Your health is forever.
The Steelers have a more-than-adequate replacement for Clark in Tyrone Carter.
But even if Carter were not available, for the good of himself, his family and the people who worship the Steelers, Ryan Clark should not be in uniform Monday night.
Posted
Nov 04 2009, 12:30 AM
by
Bob Smizik