One month after being hospitalized for a pair of seizures, South Florida offensive lineman David Simon has made the difficult (yet in other ways, not so difficult) choice to give up football.
In an interview with the Birmingham News, Simon, a redshirt freshman, said he has been diagnosed with epilepsy. The result of which means his collegiate playing days are over.
“It’s probably for my best health not to play football anymore,” Simon said, “so I’ve had to walk away from the game. I know some players have been able to play with it. But, I think my life, my brain is more important down the road than football.”
Simon has been experiencing the seizures since last summer, but it wasn’t until the past few months that the episodes became more violent.
“I probably should have said something,” He said. “But it felt like an out-of-body experience. I didn’t know what it was, and it just scared me.”
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: it’s always tough when a kid has to give up football because of a medical condition, but it sounds like Simon has the right attitude and understands his health comes first. Good luck to him.
Additionally, coach Skip Holtz released the following statement:
“David was a productive member of the program both in the classroom and on the field, but our focus right now is on his health,” Holtz said. “We had a number of conversations with the Simons and wanted to work closely with them as they made the decision on how to proceed. We will continue to support them as they navigate through this situation and wish nothing but the best for David moving forward.”