Patriots Player Cut After Diagnosis of Diabetes: Is it Ethical?
The New England Patriots cut player Kyle Love after his diabetes diagnosis on Wednesday, which is leaving some people questioning the ethics of such a move.
Love has type two diabetes, which is not as severe as type one and had been struggling with his weight, losing 20 pounds and then gaining it back in the span of two weeks, according to MyFox9. However, type two diabetes is manageable with the right care.
"They expressed some concern that they didn't know what the recovery time would be and, in their view, didn't want to leave something to chance," Richard Kopelman, Love's agent, said in a release. "That's OK. There are 31 other teams in the NFL."
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Love became a member of the Patriots when he signed as a rookie in 2010 out of Mississippi State, but never expected to be dropped in this fashion.
"I'm upset in the sense that I'm disappointed for my client, but football's a tough business. The players are the capital," Kopelman said to Fox. "They're the machines that make the factory work. The teams have the prerogative to decide when they want to buy a new machine and get rid of an older one, not that Kyle's old by any stretch. It is a bit confounding that they would make a decision like that. It seems a bit premature."
Some feel cutting Love was unethical and an illegal move.
"It is an understatement to characterize this termination-undertaken without any apparent consideration of whether the team could accommodate the diabetes-as high risk. It would not surprise me in the least if, given the high profile nature of this employment decision, the EEOC takes up Kyle Love's cause to further its mission of disability-rights awareness," said Jon Hyman of WorkForce.com.
Love was claimed off of waivers by the Jacksonville Jaguars, according to Newstrick.com.
