The NFL is a league where athletes do their best to perform, and why wouldn’t they? Not everyone can make it to the biggest football league on earth. LenDale White is one of those athletes who nearly faced death while playing football at age thirty-four.
Tom Brady, the undisputed GOAT of the NFL, once famously said,” I don’t give a s— if you’re a first-round pick, I was 199. … If you get a chance to be on the field, don’t mess it up, because you may never get a second one,” it seems like most players in the NFL including White gave it their all for the sport.
While joining Marshawn Lynch, Brandon Marshall, and Adam “Pacman” Jones on the “I Am Athlete” podcast show, former Titans running back LenDale White revealed that he almost died at 34 while playing football.
What did LenDale White say?
In the podcast, while discussing mental health and general health, White shares his story of changing his lifestyle to keep living. The former Titans running back revealed he did not maintain a healthy lifestyle and did not work out enough to remain fit. So, while he was thirty-four and playing for the Tennessee team, he had a “widow-maker” cardiac arrest.
Later explaining the term “window-maker,” LenDale said, “My LAD was clogged, and I had to have two stints shot into my heart so my blood can flow again. It’s called a widow-maker because you’re really not supposed to make it back from that.”
Dammar Hamlin is one of the few athletes to suffer a severe cardiac arrest, and he is the only player in history who suffered while a game was ongoing. Athletes, especially football players, must realize that their lives are much different that other people’s. So, they must always remain fit, not just to play good football but also to make their lives easier.
If athletes do not maintain a healthy lifestyle, more of these stories will continue to come out to the surface.
What did you make of LenDale White’s story? You can share your opinion in the comments.
