The idea of an athlete playing through pain is more than just an antiquated construct of masculinity, it can be downright harmful. Trying to “man up,” or whatever you’d like to call it, can be deleterious to an athlete’s immediate and long-term health and could end up harming his team as well.
That’s why I’m concerned with Yu Darvish getting a cortisone injection to counter his body’s natural inflammatory response and why the latest rhetoric surrounding Kris Bryant makes me cringe a little bit.
Bryant first jammed his left shoulder on a headfirst slide in May, presumably against the Reds (though it may have been on a play prior to the one I highlighted), and exacerbated it by trying to swing himself out of the resultant slump.