It's pretty easy to empathize with a guy like Sean Lee – a guy who we as media members constantly praise both as a person and a player, and, unfortunately, a guy who can't stay healthy long enough to prove himself to the league.
It carries a bit more weight, however, when it comes from one of the faces of the NFL and a guy who has dealt with plenty of injury issues in his own right. That's why it stood out Tuesday when Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III sent some thoughts Lee's way via Twitter, after word had spread about Lee's OTA injury.
"Put away the rivalry for a minute. Prayers sent up for Sean Lee," Griffin said on his official Twitter account.
Griffin is bound to know where Lee is coming from, himself a recipient of two ACL rehabs. Much like Lee, Griffin tore the ligament the first time in college – early on in his 2009 season. The second one was much more high-profile, coming in the first round of the NFL playoffs two seasons ago, after Griffin had won the Heisman Trophy and been named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
I'd like to think it was unnecessary that Griffin ask his Twitter followers to put aside the famous Cowboys-Redskins rivalry in wishing well for Lee. A look at the mentions on the aforementioned tweet, however, will show you that it absolutely was.
Which raises a good point. Given the high stakes and high payrolls you see in the NFL, it can be pretty easy to forget football is a [embedded_ad]
dangerous game played by people. Griffin lives at the epicenter of the non-stop nature of some of the league's biggest rivalries, but he still took the time to note that.
I'm not saying anyone needs to shed tears for Sean Lee or view him as some sort of victim. It's a risky business, and it is a business he'll be well-compensated for regardless of injury.
But before the news cycle rushes off to figure out who will replace Lee, how his injury will affect his future with the team and whatever else, it's not the worst thing in the world to stop and wish the guy well after what was undoubtedly a crappy day. It's all the more refreshing to see it come across the boundary line of one of the league's nastier rivalries.
