Vince Young, the man who was MVP of one of the greatest college football games of all time and the man who has led the Titans to back to back post-seasons is something of an enigma of late.
Apparently the rumor is, that Vince Young is mentally or emotionally unstable and is considering not returning to football. When I say unstable I don’t mean to insinuate that he needs to be put in a mental home or anything like that, but merely that he cannot seem to handle the rigors and day in day out pressure the NFL imposes on all its players but especially highly touted quarterbacks.
Young looking upset after injuring his knee.
This all began Monday night when Young s family called Titans head coach Jeff Fisher and expressed their worry over not being able to get in touch with Vince for nearly four hours on Monday night. Fisher then contacted the police to help find Young. When Young was finally located he joined Fisher and a police crisis negotiator for a meeting in the teams headquarters.
Young drove home on his own following the meeting so apparently everyone was comfortable enough with his situation that they felt he could be alone.
However, Young’s mental state has been in question since that Sunday game against Jacksonville when he was booed by the crowd after tossing his second interception and did not want o go back into the game until Fisher convinced him to do so.
Young also, apparently talked of retirement after his rookie season as well, but claims that the quote was taken out of context.
Young’s mother told The Tennessean recently that her son is tired of all the negativity he’s faced, and that he indicated eh didn’t want to play football she also stated that Young is, “hurting inside and out”.
“What would you think, if you were tired of being ridiculed and persecuted and talked about and not being treated very well, what would you do? What kind of decision would you make?” Felicia Young said “He may not want to deal with it (all), but you have to get to that point before you make that decision first.
“But we’re not talking about football right now. We’re talking about what would make him happy, and that is the most important thing.”
Young injured his knee in that game versus Jacksonville, spraining his MCL, an injury which could sideline him for 4 weeks, so he will have time to step back from the game and consider his options.
But, honestly if I am a Titans fan I am more then a little worried at this point and I’m also more then a little pissed off. Here is a guy that is getting paid millions and millions of dollars to play football, and he’s about to have a breakdown because he’s getting booed after throwing two interceptions? Come on Vince, its time to realize that this isn’t college anymore, you’re a pro now getting paid to play the sport, booing is as much a part of the game as the football itself. And as for the worry part of it well that list is much longer.
I’m worried that my QB just flat out isn’t mentally tough enough to deal with the NFL. That he will never develop as a passer and was much better suited for the college game, and that if he does retire this could set the franchise back years, among other things.
We’ll see how it plays out in the future for VInce Young, but if I could give him some advice I’d say Man UP Vince! It’s professional sports, a million men would pay to get booed, you’re getting paid to do it so come on.