The news that Marquise Goodwin decided not to participate in the 2020 NFL season broke out today and we now have a direct explanation from the source. The Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver said the following during a video posted on her YouTube channel. You can see all of the following below and continue reading for a transcript:
“I wrote something, but I feel it would be better to be seen and understood directly from the heart. So I give you everything that people have been asking for. So here is my statement.
It is truly a blessing and a privilege to be able to play soccer, the game that I love so much and have been fortunate to play since I was nine years old. The NFL organization provides my family and me with many opportunities that would not have presented me in other industries. Traveling to various states per year and traveling internationally to play on foreign soil has allowed me to appreciate different cultures and a broader perspective of worldview. The organization of the NFL has allowed me to create a platform that I have always dreamed of and allows me to reach numerous people at different stages of life.
I chose to stop playing in the 2020-2021 season this year and here’s why. Three years ago I made a decision that affected my whole life. I decided to leave my wife in the hospital after giving birth to our first baby prematurely, due to an incompetent cervix, which resulted in death, to play in a soccer game. I felt like I had to show my coaches and the new team that I was dedicated to winning and that I wouldn’t let anything stop me from that goal, not even my family.
The following year, in the same month, the same week, our lives took another traumatic turn. Two weeks after learning that her abdominal buckling was failing, my wife called me shortly after arriving at our team hotel in Tampa, Florida, to report that she had painful contractions and that my grandmother, who flew in to help me take [my wife] Morgan, while I was going to work on the games away from home, had to rush her to the emergency room. Here we are again in the same situation as a year ago, except that it was almost 3,000 miles away. Anxiety overwhelmed me when I again had to make a similar decision. Would you choose to play again as everyone expects you to? Or do I go home and take care of my sick wife? However, I told our general manager at the time that I absolutely had to fly back and honor my wedding vows that I made to her, myself and God. We lost our twins. We had to watch three angel babies as their heartbeats faded more and more until it stopped. I am holding these babies, and I see my heartbeat weakening more and more. Like, imagine that. You know what I’m talking?
After those losses, he was expected to perform on the grid. Soon, he was losing the thrill of playing the game. Like, it was all I could think of. My wife at home no longer had a pregnant belly, no one to hold on to, no shoulder to cry on, no one to talk to, while I was at work receiving love and everyone patted me on the back and I relaxed and hit myself while she is in home. Some may not understand, as they may not have to deal with this problem. It made me vulnerable. She did not know how to cope with the loss of babies. I always wanted to have children, I always wanted babies, but we still came home without babies.
My game decreased. I started playing less. He was hurting me. I was losing weight. It wasn’t the same vibrant soul in soccer facilities as it was before. I was angry, I felt like I should be home helping my best friend get over the pain. So it could be THE Marquise Goodwin, the guy I was on the field with my first season in San Francisco, except better.
Starting in February 2019, our lives changed for the better as we were finally blessed to bring home our first living baby, our rainbow baby. (Goodwin brings his daughter) All right, you guys. This right here, this is my reason. She is the reason why I am choosing the season. After choosing football so many times, I feel like I’m inclined to make the right choice by choosing my family first, and that’s a real talk.
The NFL is known to be implementing protocols to combat the pandemic of COVID and other professional leagues. I will not risk experiencing another loss due to my selfish decision making. I can not do it
So, I chose to choose not to just play for this [2020] season or until medical professionals around the world agree that it is a safe environment for everyone and not just for NFL players. I will not play the 2020-2021 NFL football season. I ask all of you to respect my decision and I hope that you remain safe in these unprecedented times. “
[…]
“It doesn’t mean I don’t love soccer. It doesn’t mean you don’t want to be an eagle. It means nothing more than the fact that I’m protecting [my wife and daughter.] These are my pride and joy. I live for these two, I die for these two. “
Goodwin’s opt-out means you will qualify for a $ 350,000 stipend (high risk) or a $ 150,000 cash advance (voluntary). Her $ 1.35 million one-year contract with an additional $ 1 million available in incentives originally earmarked for 2020 will now be carried over to the 2021 season.
