- Indianapolis Colts starting quarterback Carson Wentz has been placed on the reserve/COVID list.
- Wentz is not vaccinated, though he’s not given a plausible explanation as to why.
- This is the second time this year that Wentz has missed time due to his boneheaded refusal to be vaccinated.
Many sports media outlets like to kill time around Christmas by coming up with lists. ‘Best of the year’, ‘award winners’, so on and so forth–it’s a convenient way to regurgitate content and pass it off as newish. As you’ve no doubt noticed, we don’t do that here at SportsInsider.com. That’s a by-product of a lifetime spent in sports betting–it’s a discipline where rehashed information and copying cliches doesn’t get it done. Every day is a new challenge and your ability to deal with that challenge is only as good as the information you’re working with.
Hypothetically speaking, were we to do some type of ‘year end wrap-up’ award we’d definitely include among the superlatives a mention of the ‘worst athlete explanation for not getting vaccinated against COVID-19.’ For most of November and December this hypothetical award(?) looked like a ‘lock’ for Brooklyn Nets anti-vaxxer Kyrie Irving. Irving has yet to provide a good reason why he won’t get vaccinated and is willing to forgo a lot of money in the process. Irving may end up playing in road games which is probably not the way to handle a player that won’t do what is necessary to benefit the team.
Irving’s nonsensical ramblings about why he won’t get vaccinated were good but–unfortunately for him–just not good enough. Right under the wire, with mere days left in 2021 we have what sure looks like a winner. A round of applause (?) for Indianapolis Colts’ starting quarterback Carson Wentz who has landed in reserve/COVID protocol for the second time this season. No big surprise there, as Wentz is not vaccinated. And wait until you here his ‘rationale’ or ‘explanation’ or whatever you want to call it. The utter vacuousness of anything that Wentz says about his non-vaccinated status makes Kyrie Irving sound like a Communicable Disease Specialist by comparison.
Here’s a classic Wentz quote in which he dismisses his rejection of modern medicine as simply a ‘personal decision for him and his family’:
“I’m not going to go into depth on why, but I will say it’s a personal decision for me and my family. I respect everybody else’s decision, and I just ask that everybody does the same for me. I know that’s not the world we live in, not everyone is going to equally view things the same, but yeah, no one really knows what’s going on in someone else’s household and how things are being handled. It’s a personal decision. That’s just where I’m at on it and with the protocols and everything the way they are, really for us, it’s about understanding them clearly and making sure that we are dotting our I’s and crossing our T’s.”
What the hell does this even mean? Let’s try to dissect it. He generously says that he ‘respects everybody else’s decision’, presumably referring to all of us who defer to the knowledge of doctors and scientists in matters like this. Wentz graduated from North Dakota State with a degree in health and physical education. He was a good student in his chosen field finishing with a 4.0 GPA. Lest we mistake Wentz’s degree for something serious like pre-med I consulted the North Dakota State academic catalog. Here’s what a Physical Education degree from NDSU entails:
To be successful in the field, a physical education student must like to work with people, be adequately skilled in physical activities, have a commitment to fitness and be interested in the physical, biological and social sciences.
The PETE program emphasizes teaching and provides students with skills and techniques necessary to begin a successful career in K-12 physical education. The program is aligned with the National Standards Guidelines for Physical Education Teacher Education. The courses are strategically structured to be sequential in nature.
A graduate leaves prepared to teach in a professional manner, while demonstrating exemplary ethical behavior, and displaying current best practices. Graduates are expected to be positive role models for K-12 students in the area of physical education, physical activity and sports. Â
Wentz was a double major in health education which is just as demanding as it sounds. Give yourself a star if you correctly surmised that this would qualify Wentz to teach high school health were he not playing in the NFL:
The health education program emphasizes a student-centered approach to teaching health, emphasizing skills based learning to promote health literacy for all individual students.
Health education is an important course in the lives of our youth. Students need to be healthy to learn and must learn to be healthy. From mental health to human sexuality, from good nutrition to personal safety, health educators help teens make smart, health enhancing decisions to improve their physical, mental, social and emotional well-being.
Graduates in school health education will find career opportunities teaching in public or private educational settings, teaching health education in a variety of settings, including community programming, nonprofit organizations and private businesses.
The part about ‘no one knows what’s going on in someone else’s household and how things are being handled’ is equal parts creepy and downright stupid. No, I might not specifically know what is going on with Wentz, Mrs. Wentz and his two young daughters in his household. What could possibly be going on in the ‘Casa de Wentz’ that justifies ignoring the prevailing wisdom among scientific and medical professionals is unknown. As for the final sentence I have no clue what it means: “That’s just where I’m at on it and with the protocols and everything the way they are, really for us, it’s about understanding them clearly and making sure that we are dotting our I’s and crossing our T’s.” I guess he means that he’s being really, really careful. But were he *really* ‘dotting his I’s and crossing his T’s’ that doesn’t explain how he’s ended up on the COVID list for the second time this season.
There is ‘no I in team’ but there are *two of them* in ‘tin foil hat’. There’s also two in ‘idiot’ and..uh…several other words. At least Wentz didn’t come with the ‘I’ve done my own research’ blast like so many other athletes. No, you didn’t do your own ‘research’. You read a couple of Facebook posts and watched a couple of videos of YouTube–not exactly a double blind peer reviewed study. Thanks to new NFL protocols Wentz might be able to play this weekend provided that ‘the positive test took place Monday and he is asymptomatic or demonstrates his symptoms are improving under the new protocols.’
If Wentz *can’t* play the Colts–who are fighting for a playoff spot–will be forced to start rookie Sam Ehlinger or practice squad QB Brett Hundley. Word is that Indy has even been blowing up the celly of one Philip Rivers trying to see if their former now retired starter would be interested in playing a game or two if Wentz can’t get cleared in time. Why not Andrew Luck? Things are quiet on the Civil War front now and he might be willing to give it a go. Peyton Manning? Check out Manning doing some VR quarterbacking recently:
Bert Jones? ‘The Ruston Rifle’ is still alive and kicking. He’s 70 now but in his prime he was as good as they come.
Seriously, that Manning video is hella impressive. The hardest thing about VR is getting used to the interface. It looks like Peyton is still figuring that out but while he is he throws a couple of sweet completions.
I like Wentz as a guy and have always had a soft spot for NFL players for FCS schools. I’m happy that things are going reasonably well for him in Indy but my man has to get vaccinated or at least give up a better reason.
