Tony Wroten Sits Out Game with Football Injury

There was a lot of discussion among local basketball fans regarding the wisdom (or lack thereof) of going out for the football team this year when your name is “Tony Wroten Jr.” or “Josh Smith.” The top two local high school hoopsters are both suiting up for their schools on the gridiron this season. Smith is also the Huskies’ top recruiting target for 2010, while Wroten is the top guy we’ll be looking to enroll for 2011. /

Well, Tony Wroten had a stellar debut last week, with two interceptions and a TD catch, but also bruised his knee, causing him to miss Thursday’s game, which Garfield lost to Inglemoor. Here’s the Seattle Times’ coverage of the game and his injury.

Josh Smith had his debut on the football field last night, but it sounds like he saw very limited playing time and didn’t cause much fanfare either way. (Other than the Is he really going to jeopardize his NBA future? kind of fanfare…)

I’ve been somewhat quiet on this given my strong feelings. It’s because, frankly, none of “us” (fans, media, future college coaches, etc.) get a say. These kids want to play football, they have every right. All I can say is this: if it were me, even the smallest chance of an injury would keep me from suiting up, given all that I’d stand to lose.

That said, I wish these kids all the health and success in the world. These are their risks to take.

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