OPINION | This article contains the author's opinion.
During a press conference after the win against the Carolina Panthers, Arizona Cardinals defensive lineman J.J. Watt responded emotionally.
Last week, Watt underwent a heart procedure. He had tweeted his heart was shocked due to an irregular rhythm.
Watt tweeted, “I was just told somebody leaked some personal information about me, and it’s going to be reported on today. I went into A-Fib on Wednesday, had my heart shocked back into rhythm on Thursday, and I’m playing today. That’s it.”
Before the game, Watt said he had “talked to cardiologists and electrophysiologists from all over the country.”
Watt said, “I was assured multiple times from multiple people that there’s nothing else you could do. I’m gonna go back and play like normal. So it could happen again next day, it could happen never again in 20 years.”
“So I was assured multiple times, so I went back to practice Friday, practiced, and here we are. Obviously, it’s been a very emotional week for my family, for my wife, for myself. I’m very happy to get a win today. I mean, I’ve learned, obviously, I’ve had a lot of emotions, but I’ve learned to appreciate the little things even more. And so it’s nice to have a win today.”
Watt continued, “It’s been a week, but happy to be here… It’s been tough, you know? It was just weird. Just weird. I have a baby on the way.”
Watt said that he was very thankful to be out there with his team for their win and that he was so upset that the news of his heart condition leaked because he felt like it took away from his teammates.
Watt added, “My wife was by my side the whole time. So that helps a lot. And then just I didn’t know what else to do. I’ve been playing this game my whole life. They said I was fine. So once my heart was reset, they said, you’re fine if you feel comfortable. I mean, I’d probably be more uncomfortable sitting on my couch at home.”
“This is just, this is what I know. Right or wrong, maybe that’s messed up. But if I was sitting at home watching the boys play and knowing that they said I was perfectly fine to play, I would have felt weird. So I just did what I know.”