KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Safety Husain Abdullah was one of the most thoughtful players for the Kansas City Chiefs since he joined them in 2013. So it was no surprise Abdullah had some interesting comments about his retirement from football during a SportsCenter interview with Hannah Storm on Thursday morning.
Abdullah cited his health as the main reason for his retirement this week when he announced it on his Instagram account. Abdullah suffered what he said was the fifth concussion of his career last season.
In the SportsCenter interview, Abdullah said the birth of his fourth child, a girl, on March 18 might have been the event that clinched his decision to retire.
“Just looking at her, I want to be around," he said. “I want to be aware of everything going on in her life. I want to be a father to her. I don’t want it to be where she’s taking care of me. There are a lot of things I want to give in this world to our society and to my family and I’m not sure I would be able to do that if I were to get more hits to the head.
“You see a lot of players struggling moving forward, a lot of guys from earlier ages, the '70s, '80s and '90s. You’re starting to see these different things we were unaware of and now it’s kind of like you get to a point, you evaluate and you just say, ‘Is this worth it?’ There is a lot of research being done right now and there’s a lot of work being done, but right now they don’t have all the answers."
Responding to a question from Storm, Abdullah expressed irritation about recent comments from NFL owners Jerry Jones of Dallas and Jim Irsay of Indianapolis downplaying the seriousness of concussions.
“None of us are neurosurgeons and neither are they," Abdullah said. “We should all take a step back and let the brain doctors do their research and come up with stuff. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but you can’t come out and make a statement like that because you don’t know. Even these doctors doing their research and coming up with stuff, at the end of the day they can’t tell you what life is going to be like tomorrow. They can’t tell you what’s going to happen if you get another [concussion].
“For someone to come out and make a 100 percent guaranteed statement like that, it’s false."
Abdullah played three seasons for the Chiefs. He also played four seasons for the Vikings and his previous concussion happened in 2011, in his final season with Minnesota.
Abdullah has some experience with concussions and offered advice to other players on how to deal with them.
“I have to take a proactive approach," Abdullah said. “In 2011, when I had a concussion, I was reading a lot of stories that were coming out about concussions and brain disease and everything was extremely negative. I was getting nervous. It was making me depressed, which was actually making my concussions worse.
“This past time, going out to Pittsburgh and learning and trying to understand just the medical advances they’ve made so far [helped me]. You have to be proactive. You have to train your brain. Go back to school if you have to. Start reading books. Start doing different things. If you just sit around and worry, it’s not going to be of benefit to you."
Abdullah is 30 and, judging from the way he played last season, has some good football left in him. He seemed comfortable with his decision but was also aware dealing with the consequences of his choice might start getting more difficult in April, when the Chiefs gather in Kansas City for their offseason program and he won’t be with them.
“I was on a great team," he said. “The Chiefs’ organization, I love everyone there from top to bottom. They run everything first class. Great coaching staff, great teammates. We were right on the cusp of a championship. We went out there to New England this past year [in the playoffs]. None of us feel good about that game. We don’t feel we put our best foot forward.
“I want to be on that team when they do turn the corner and win the Super Bowl. That’s something that’s going to be a hurt-so-good feeling when I do cheer them on when they win, but long-term health is more important to me."
