Panthers Postgame sadness

[OnceWeWereKings]

Originally Posted by SunnySide

Im not getting caught up with that. He was a top prospect in the 4th grade. His dad had NFL aspirations for him. Seems he came from a middle class type family in NJ then moved to Potomac Md to go to Bullis in the 9th grade.

He was on a different life trajectory than us. I worked baskin robbins at 15 and Popeyes/day laborer through out high school until college. We werent him. Few are.

He attained an incredible achievement, making the NFL. No one can take that from him.

He also apparently lost that achievement by being immature and entitled. basically the opposite of Chase Young. In ways I feel bad for him. He has no one to blame but himself but it is sad watching a young person experience these huge crushing emotions so early in life.

A lot was given to him unearned but that is the society we live in. Us 40-60 year old fat guys on our couches raise these 19 year old athletes above us on this pedestal like some greek gods .. only to discard them into the trash heap once they dont benefit our Sunday viewing pleasure anymore.

I feel for the young man. His feelings right now and the weight on his shoulders is vastly more than any of us could even imagine.

We created Dwayne Haskins in many ways. College to professional sports is a factory and these young guys are just products on an assembly line with a limited useful shelf life before they are discarded and replaced.

I have a friend....a close friend, actually...and his family gave him the world. Kid had a good heart. His parents and grand parents gave him beautiful cars, and opportunity after opportunity. The likes of which none of my other friends had.. even wealthier friends got less.
My friend still wanted to do stupid immature things. He totalled 3 cars getting dui's on each. Every time....new car. He ended up in and out of jail for various offenses. We just kept telling him he was fucking up. He didn't listen, or couldn't. Whatever. Dude just couldn't not live the life. We didn't create that. His family didn't help the situation...but he chose to do those things. Sad as it is. And in the end he od'ed. It was a tough one. Really tough cause no one knew the extent of his issues, nor could anyone help him if we did.
But he chose that path. No one set him on it. His best friend (another of my close friends) had a wealthier family and was given a lot of the same opportunities. He is a lawyer now, and though likes a trip to the bar occasionally, is and never has been an addict. Never crashed a car. Never went to jail. He seized his opportunity, while my other friend took the other path. One worked hard and one used his opportunities to coast. I'm not gonna feel bad for haskins. He has the opportunity, but squanders it at every turn. He is a child. I will not think that he is a product of some football factory lifestyle that makes him a victim of circumstance. Hes just a kid who won't put in the work because he thinks it's a given that he deserves to succeed.
Fuck that.
I hope his t shirts are 100% cotton to absorb his entitled tears.