Cowboys' Micah Parsons Sounds Off on NBA 'Load Management' Featuring Mavs' Kyrie Irving
Barring injury, expect Micah Parsons to take to the field every foreseeable fall Sunday.
The Dallas Cowboys linebacker became the latest major name to sound off on the load management debate gripping the NBA. With championships viewed as the ultimate social currency amongst NBA superstars, holding players out solely for the sake of rest has been a growing trend in the new century.
Current NBA players have spoken both in favor and against the concept. Parsons' fellow North Texan Kyrie Irving, now on the Dallas Mavericks, labeled the term "dehumanizing" while the Minnesota Timberwolves' Anthony Edwards took aim at healthy players opting for a night off.
Parsons made it clear he sided with Edwards in a tweet quoting the All-Star's comments at the NBA's annual exhibition over the weekend.
"I don’t miss games simply because you never know when your last game will be!" Parsons declared. "Life (is) so unpredictable. If I can breathe you’ll see number 11 with (a) star on his helmet every Sunday! You only get 1 shot at this opportunity and someone is always coming to replace you!"
Edwards, making his first All-Star appearance in his third NBA season, was responding to any changes he'd make to the Association as his profile raises. The junior has played in all 61 Timberwolves games this season, one of only two players on the Minnesota roster to do so (along with reserve Jaylen Nowell).
Parsons, who has used his Twitter account to sound off on numerous conversations in both football and beyond, partakes in a league that plays 17 games compared to the NBA's 82, though his Dallas defensive affairs are obviously more physical. While load management has never been a problem in the NFL, Parsons perhaps indirectly foreshadowed his comments on the final weekend of this past regular season.
With Dallas left with little to play for in their Week 18 showdown against the Washington Commanders (an NFC East divisional title bid was mostly rendered moot with the Philadelphia Eagles facing a New York Giants team engaging in load management), Parsons nonetheless engaged in his usual workload, playing 70 percent of defensive snaps in a 26-6 loss. Parsons has missed one game of a possible 34 so far, sitting out of 2021-22's Week 18 matchup due to placement on the Reserve/COVID-19 list.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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