Former Jets LB Bart Scott Reveals He Retired from NFL After ‘Seeing Spots and Lights’

Scott Polacek@@ScottPolacekFeatured Columnist IVSeptember 13, 2024

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With concussions in the NFL once again under the spotlight after Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered the third confirmed one of his career during Thursday’s game against the Buffalo Bills, former linebacker Bart Scott revealed the true reason why he walked away from the game after the 2012 season.

“Everybody thought I retired because of my toe,” the ESPN analyst said during Friday’s episode of Get Up. “I had reconstructive surgery on my toe when I left. But really, it was because I started seeing spots and lights. I had light sensitivity. I’ve never really shared this with anybody, but I felt inclined to do this. … I didn’t know what to do. And I was like, ‘you know what, it’s time to fold it up.'”

Get Up @GetUpESPN.@BartScott57 shares a personal story on his retirement from the NFL and his empathy for Tua Tagovailoa. pic.twitter.com/hKl97Jc91R

The analysts on the show were discussing what lies ahead for Tagovailoa given the quarterback’s history of head injuries.

It was immediately clear he suffered another one during Thursday’s game, as he went into a fencing position and was examined by trainers on the field. He ended up walking off the field and to the locker room under his own power but was quickly ruled out for the rest of the contest.

The NFL ended up changing its concussion policy in 2022 when Tagovailoa took a hard hit to the head against the Bills but remained in the game. He suffered a concussion against the Cincinnati Bengals just four days later and was hospitalized in the aftermath.

Tagovailoa then suffered another concussion later that season against the Green Bay Packers and didn’t return to the field until the 2023 campaign.

As for Scott, he explained retiring wasn’t an easy decision even amid concern about his health.

“Sometimes I regret that I walked away because you have to live with that,” he said. “Leaving the game that you dedicated your entire life to is like a death. I tell people all the time, athletes have two deaths. You don’t know what to do, you wake up the next day and you’re 30 years old, 20 years old, and you don’t know what to do with the rest of your life.

“Everything that you’ve done has been defined by being a football player. It’s not who you are, it’s what you do. But all the laws and everything that we’ve learned and all the best qualities of us were learned on the football field. How to work with others, how to be accountable. Now you’re not a part of that, and it’s the loneliest feeling in the world.”

Scott had an 11-year career for the Baltimore Ravens and New York Jets from 2002 to 2012. He was a 2006 Pro Bowler for the Ravens and helped his teams reach the postseason five different times.