NFL wide receiver Marqise Lee didn’t play football in 2020. He could have played for Bill Belichick, but he didn’t. Not because he was worn down or afraid of the grind—as an athlete and a football player, he was in the prime of his career.
No, he opted out of that season because, as it did for so many, COVID-19 disrupted everything. Sports, like business, involves travel and time at the office, away from family. But with COVID-19 protocols, with limited access to family and friends on the road, that NFL season was different. It would have been too much time away for Lee, more than he was willing to bear. As he told ESPN: People who know my background and where I came from, and things like that, I didn’t really have my pops in my life. I never really had a real father figure besides coaches as I got older. This is my opportunity to be there for my daughter. I was hoping she could be there watching this season, but clearly she wasn’t going to be able to do that. I felt like it was important to just spend this year with her, and get back to it next year. Football is going to be there at the end of the day.
Lee was putting his family first. He was doing something his father didn’t do for him. He was drawing a line. He was deciding not to waste the most precious thing we have with our children: time. Each of us must decide the same.