New York Post, Tuesday, August 27, 2019nypost.com46
AP (2)W
ESLEY Walker criedwhen
he watched Andrew Luck
talk about giving up the
game he loved so much— the
game they all love so much until
the ga me stops loving their bodies
and minds later in life, sometimes
witha vengeance.
“I was cryingmyself, because
I know what that feels like when
you can’tplay at your leve l that
you once were, and not enjoying
yourself,” the fo rmerJe ts receiver
told The Post.
“Heaven forbid if hekept going
and he’s gonnafeel a lot worse
down theroad, maybe he’s cir-
cumventing that right now.
“Knowingwhat I know, the way
I feel, I don’twant to feel like this,
but it’s too late.
“Mostplayers wouldtell you
they’ll do itover again. I’m not
oneof them.”
Walker usedto fly past defen-
sive backs like fewcould and
today he is hunchedover with no
feeling in hisfeet, unableto jog or
run or sleep without Vicodin and/
or Ambien. His is oneof the many
cautionarytales of the NFLplayer
who couldn’t orwouldn’tpay
heedto theconsequences down
theroad, theway Luck did
when hewalkedaway
fromfootball ina man-
ner that Walker no
longer can.
“I just don’t know
what’s happenedto
my body. I’m a shellof
myself,” Walkersaid.
It all began witha
training campblow
fromcornerback
JerryHolmes in
1986 that left
Walker with a
serious neck
injury.
“They sa id
I would prob-
ably have to
retire if itev er
happened
again,” Walker
said. “Iwent,
like, paralyzed,wh er eIcouldn’tev en move, a nd
I ha d thisre sidual tingling inmy
hands, onmyarms, knees, legs.
It was justweird,I never felt any-
thing like that.”
Walkereventually signed an
injurywaiver to continueplaying.
“I hada[neck]
fusion of C4
through 7, a
cage anda plate
put in there, 14
screws there,”
Walkersaid.
Sleepingwasa
major problem.
“I would only
get three hours sleep with an
Ambien,” Walkersaid.
Th re e ye ar s la te r, Wa lkerwa s
the onewho delivered the hit.
“A nd I ha d the same thing hap-
pen, I’mwalkingoff thefield in
slow motion,everybody’s high-
fiving me on thisblock,” Walker
said. “Meanwhile,Icouldn’teven
feel myself and it’s like I’m ina
dream, and like this isweird. ”
Hewas placed on injured
re serve. Brow ns head co ach Bud
Carson calledWalkerexpressing
interest in himplaying.
“I wasn’t sure if I wa ntedto
retire,” he said, “and that’s
howstupidI am.”
Except thegame wasan addictionfor him.
“I don’t thinkI even lookedat
thefact thatIwas really mess-
ing my body up,Ijust triedto get
back on thefield and dowhat I
do,” Walker said.
He had back fusion surgery in
2014.
“Withtwo
bigrods and
10 screws
put in there,”
Walkersaid.
He has had
right shoul-
der recon-
struction and
rotator cuff surgery on his other
shoulder. Hetore hisAchilles
after simply jumping up in the air.
His knees acheevery day and has
difficulty negotiating the stairs up
and down in his Dix Hills home.
He can’tfeel thetemperature on
his right hand.
“My body physically justhurts
every day,” Walkersaid.
Walker , 64, is asked if heregrets
notretiring after suffering his
neck injury.
“I regret thewayIfeel right
now because it’s not just theJer-
ry Holmes hit,” Walkersaid. “It’s
probably that you don’t know
when you shouldretire.That’s the
regret.
“I didn’t know what was going
to happen. ...I have a regret not
knowing that, butIdon’t know
how anybody can know that.”
Virtually all of them will
acknowledge that they knew the
risks and signed up anyway.
Former Giantsgreat
JustinTuck considered
retirement on several
occasions.
“I thought
about retiring
every year
from Ye ar
6 until the
dayIdid
retire,” Tuck,
who spent 11
seasons in the
NFL,told The Post.
There is more toan NFL careerthanfa me andfo r-
tune.Tuck, an All-
Pr o famil y man and
businessman, under-
stands why Luck
retired.
“He’s just doing
what’s bestfor his
life,” he said.
Tuck, 36, does
notre gr et not
retiring earlier
onl y because
he felt he had
more to give.
But massage and
acupuncture every
week is mandatory.
“I can’t throw the football asfar
as I’ d like to throw,” Tuck said.
Giants Hallof Famer Harry
Carson, 65, endured15 concus-
sions during his13-year career
and post-concussionsyndrome
that led himto pondering suicide
in 1990.
“I didn’t knowIhad that untilI
was out of it for two years, ” Car-
sontold The Post.
Regrets notretiring earlier?
“IfIhad known what I was put-
tingmyself throughat that time, if
I had full knowledge of it, yeah, I
probably would have lef t earlier,”
Carson said, “b ut I didn’t know.
None of us knew.”
Everyone isconcerned now
about the horrors of CT E and
Carsonwould discourage his
grandson fromplayingfootball.
Heunderstands fully Luck not
wantingto push his luck.
“I was shockedwhen I heard
that [Luck]was retiring, but
thenI couldtotally understand
where he was coming from, and
I empathize with himbecause he
doesn’twant to leave football, he
loves football. ... But you can’t
keep pushingyourselfwhen
you’re hurt,you’re in a lotof
pain.Yo u’re either dealing with
thepain now or dealing with the
pain later, eitherway you’re gon-
na have a whole bunchof pain
that you’re gonna be sortof deal-
ing with,” Carson said.
[email protected]A LIFE
OF PAIN
Wesley Walker
wishes he
could have
walked
away as
Luck did
wawawayyLuckdid
lkedaway
inaman-
lker noknow
happenedto
shellof
said.
witha
campblow
ack
in
leflefleftt
a
neckidretire,”hesaid,“andthat’s
howstupidIam.”
Exceptthegamewasprobablythatyoudon
whenyoushouldretire.
regret.
“Ididn’tknowwhat
tohappen....Ihahahavevea
knowingthat,butIdon
howanananybodybodybodybodyycanknow
Virtually allofthem
acknowledgethatthey
risksandsignedupan
Former Giants
JustinTuckco
retirementon
occasions.
“I
abou
every
fr
6
da
retir
who
seasons
NFL,toldTh
ThereismoretoanNFLSteve SerbySteSteSteveveSerby
Wesley
Walker