The Football World Has Some Hot Takes On Christian McCaffrey Skipping Stanford’s Bowl Game To Prepare For The Draft

Two of college football’s premier players have announced they will opt out of bowl season to focus on preparing for the NFL Draft (aka avoiding the risk of getting hurt and it costing millions in future earnings.)

Stanford All-American running back and 2015 Heisman finalist Christian McCaffrey announced today that he will forgo playing against North Carolina in the Sun Bowl on Dec. 30. LSU’s record-setting running back Leonard Fournette made the decision to skip the Citrus Bowl against Louisville at a press conference last Friday, using the crutch that his left ankle is at “85 to 90″ percent.

Expectedly, McCaffrey and Fournette’s decisions have divided athletes and talking heads alike. Some see it as a moral faux pas, a self-indulgent act that places the player above the team. Others are more pragmatic, recognizing that these bowl games are ultimately meaningless and risking injury simply isn’t worth lacing them up, especially when they aren’t getting paid.

Twitter folk then reminded McNabb of getting nabbed for two DUIs in 18 months.

Former Big Ten MVP Ezekiel Elliot chimed in as well:

After Zeke sent out these tweets, he was reminded that he bailed for the NFL before his season season at OSU. To which he responded:

Former NFL QB, now ESPN analyst Danny Kanell:

Former Ohio State QB Kirk Herbstreit:

Former Tennessee wide receiver and first-round draft pick Donte Stallworth relayed an interesting story that encapsulated his views on the situation:

Some miscellaneous hot takes:

[h/t Uproxx]

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Matt’s love of writing was born during a sixth grade assembly when it was announced that his essay titled “Why Drugs Are Bad” had taken first prize in D.A.R.E.’s grade-wide contest. The anti-drug people gave him a $50 savings bond for his brave contribution to crime-fighting, and upon the bond’s maturity 10 years later, he used it to buy his very first bag of marijuana.