Last week, Trevor Wikre found himself faced with an unusual, important and somewhat gruesome situation. During football practice at Mesa State College in Grand Junction, Co., the senior offensive lineman got his pinky caught up in the jersey of a teammate during a sweep play and screwed it up pretty bad - to the point where the bone was sticking out of the skin.
He brought it to the trainer and asked for it to be taped up so he could finish practice. Instead, he got rushed to the hospital, where it was recommended that he get pins inserted to reconstruct the ligaments in his finger. He was told it would take four months for it to heal.
He would have to sit the rest of his senior season.
So what did he do? He had the thing amputated so he could keep playing.
His story caught national attention. Writers across the nation were hailing Wikre as a committed man, so in love with the sport of football that he was willing to sacrifice an appendage just to continue playing in what is likely his last year in organized football.
They interviewed his mother, who professed how proud she was of her son. They interviewed his teammates, who expressed how much they were in awe of his dedication. They interviewed the man himself, Trevor Wikre, who'¦ said he liked to dangle the amputated stub in front of his fiancée?
Is this guy a hardcore dedicated football player, or is he just a guy who made a brash decision while caught up in the moment of the sport? I've heard all week from pundits and alike that this kid is the epitome of commitment. But when he was interviewed by ESPN last week and asked whether or not he would do the same thing - that is, chop off his little finger to keep playing - if he were a sophomore or a junior, he said, Uh, probably not, no.""
So clearly being his last year of playing football had nothing to do with it. From a practical point of view, having a finger amputated did not help his chances of continuing his football career beyond this year, either. Playing for a Division II school makes you a long shot for the NFL to begin with, and volunteering to lop off a digit is not going to help your chances. I'm guessing it will probably hinder his chances for playing professionally at any level, for that matter. And when you tell everyone that you wave the amputated stump in front of your bride-to-be to gross her out, I really wonder whether this guy is more appreciative of the fact that he gets to keep playing, or that everyone is making a big deal out of this whole situation.
Wikre is majoring in K-12 physical education, which is good, because he will obviously need to fall back on that for a career. I wonder if he ever thought long and hard about whether living the rest of his life with one less finger will be worth it. Whether or not life with that bride-to-be and their children might be hindered by their dad's handicap.
Big deal, you might say, what good is a pinky anyway? You'd be surprised. I've heard from mill and factory workers who have lost fingers and have struggled with so many motor operations throughout their lives. Trust me, working in a paper mill each of the last three years, it's not something I wish upon anyone.
Now, is there any question whether the guy is committed to football? No, this guy is definitely committed. But can't you be committed without being irrational? For sure. Seems to me that Wikre could have thought this one through a little better.
Chopping off his pinky finger did nothing for his future, nothing for his family and nothing for his football career beyond a couple more weeks of his last season at Mesa State. Just taking a guess here, choosing to lose your little finger does not make you any more of a man than your teammates, either. It just makes you one finger short of a full hand.
Way to go, Wikre. High four.
Think you would cut off your finger for things far less important than a few months of football? Tell Andy about it at avansistine@wisc.edu
