This is so wrong it boggles the mind. Have you never dealt with company doctors or in this case team doctors? If the team medical staff doesn't clear a guy to play then guess what HE DOESN'T PLAY. Its also in the CBA that a player will continue to be paid during rehab for an injury received while playing and also for the year that the injury occurred. I agree with you that players will make dumb decisions regarding their health, and many other things, but that is why a team employs a medical staff in the first place, to overrule those dumb decisions and protect the team's long term investment. Seriously this is basic occupational medicine 101.
Also just because other team's have bad medical staff doesn't excuse how bad the Texans staff has been. Also to answer your question YES the Vikings medical staff did drop the ball, just because it worked out doesn't mean they didn't drop the ball. I get they aren't going to be right 100% of the time and I get that often coaches and GMs push players to get back out there and even override team doctors, though that opens them up to a hell of a lawsuit, but to act like the doctors are there just to be pill dispensers and thats ok is wrong on so many levels. In drafting a player that has a bad injury history there is no excuse for the team doctors not to throw every red flag under the sun if they think the guy will have further issues.
Now to be fair in the case of Stingley it could be the Texans doctors told Caserio and Lovie "Hey you know this guy will never be the player he once was and you'll do good to get his full rookie contract out of him right?" and they said "YOLO we're drafting him anyway." Or it could be they really feel that they will get their picks worth out of him and the doctors agree and maybe they are right, believe it not I hope they are. I don't know but yeah given the track record of the medical staff I'm not giving them the benefit of the doubt.
Sure, just downplay the decision making of the most important person in the whole equation….THE PLAYER.
Never said it was ok…never said the docs are just pill dispensers…but you’re arguing whats ethical or not & that’s not what alot of these decision come down to…not really anyway. when it comes to a player getting back on the field, all the docs can really do is give the player options…& like us, its up to the player to accept or reject them…We out here usually go out for 2nd opinions before decisions are made…most of them? Nope….typically if there’s a less severe option available, they’ll take it in order to keep playing…especially if it’s during the season.
A few players have actually taken control of their own health by getting 2nd opinions after recieving a diagnosis of sorts from team docs ….trent williams did…and got roasted by fans & the coach…until the diagnosis of that crap on his head was revealed to actually be cancerous…..team docs told him it was nothing. Micheal Thomas got roasted by fans b/c he wouldnt jump back on the field until he was absolutely ready himself.
So i have no doubt that the Texans FO along with their medical staff weighed in on Sting’s lis franc after getting all the info from Sting & how he feels, and speaking to the the doctor on a professional level who performed his procedure. & that guy was able to give them intricate details of the severity of his injury..Obviously, all of the feedback they recieved back told them that there was a better than good chance that he could get back to playing at a high level & play there a good while before the degenerative effects begin to slow him.
People like to point to Schaub…completely different body type, athlete and situation here. Schaub was a 6-6 250 lb….sluggard, not known to be fleet of foot before the injury to begin with…on the wrong side of 30 at that and for practical purposes already in decline as a pro player.