'Are We Pawns?' Health Concerns Have Cowboys' Lawrence Debating Training Camp
FRISCO - "Are we pawns?''
That is the powerful and provocative question Dallas Cowboys standout defensive end and team leader DeMarcus Lawrence is asking himself on the eve of the NFL's training-camp reporting dates.
The league is asking veterans to report to "stay-at-home'' training camp (in Dallas' case, at The Star in Frisco) on July 28. Lawrence indicates to ESPN that he's excited to start the 2020 season - "Shoot, I love to ride with my brothers and play the game of football,'' he says - but COVID-19 worries are also very real to him.
His wife, Sasha, is pregnant and due in October ... thus leading to his uncertaincy.
"I'm taking it one time at a time, talking with my team and trying to figure out as many details as possible before I make a decision and have it set in stone," Lawrence told ESPN.com. When I have to take that away from myself, it's hard and I don't want to make a decision like that. But I also have to make sure I'm taking care of my family. Family is No. 1. After the game of football is done, that's the only thing I have to depend on so I've got to take care of them."
The NFL and NFLPA are working on answers ... but they are not easy to come by. A few weeks ago, a Cowboys official admitted to CowboysSI.com that the concept of creating a truly safe environment during the pandemic is a "clusterf***.''
"You can incarcerate the body, but you can't incarcerate the mind. That's the choice of your freedom," Lawrence said. "I feel like I'll be OK. I know my wife's a strong woman. She always steps forward for our family if we have to make this sacrifice in order to make sure our family is striving and still surviving. Other than that, do I want to? Hell no. But sometimes you have to roll with the punches, stand up, stand your ground and do whatever you have to do to make things happen."
Lawrence, who joined Ezekiel Elliott (who tested positive for COVID-19) as the second Dallas star to voice concerns here, obviously has the freedom to miss time for the birth of his child; he's taken that time before and the Cowboys and other sports teams have granted that time. But this is ... different.
"It's those type of thing that make you think, 'Man, are we some pawns? Is my life just a game,'" Lawrence said. "I know I ain't got forever to play but at the end of the day, come on, you're just going to toss me around because you've got dollar signs in your face?"
