Robert Mathis’ Message to the Team

Saturday was the start of Robert Mathis’ four-game suspension for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. Today was the first day of practice since then, and because Mathis cannot have any contact with the team, he decided to leave a couple of things in his locker for all to see.

The first message was an inspiration letter left on a picture of himself:

The note reads: “Athletes: Don’t take the sport you play for granted. Every time you play, you better be damn thankful that you get to do something you love. Don’t show up at practice complaining about not wanting to be there; you’re there hopefully because you love it. Work hard every moment. If you’re not working hard, you don’t deserve to play. Play every practice or game like it’s your last because it very well could be. When you finally reach the day that you can’t play, and you can only watch, then you will know how much you love something that you once took for granted.” The message is very clear here: Don’t take anything for granted and seize the moment. Mathis also chose the picture of himself wisely as he used a very serious photo that gives off the vibe that he’s watching over everyone. The second message wasn’t quite as serious as the first one:

It’s nice to see that while being extremely serious, Mathis can still add a bit of comedic relief to the situation.

All-in-all, it’s obvious that Mathis still wants to be a leader for this team — even when he can’t physically be there. Hopefully everyone will feel his presence when they are in the locker room and remember who their defensive leader is.