Despite a personal e-mail from commissioner Roger Goodell, Joe Thomas rejected the NFL's repeated written and verbal invitations to attend the draft-week festivities in New York. Thomas wants to maintain a years-old tradition in which he spends draft day fishing for coho salmon on Lake Michigan with his dad. The league repeatedly has reached out to Thomas -- who recently signed a lucrative endorsement deal with Under Armour and will be profiled in an upcoming Sports Illustrated issue -- but it has met the same type of resistance as a defensive end going against him. Thomas hasn't budged. Nor will he. Thomas doesn't believe a trip to New York will do anything to enhance his draft status; he could go as high as No. 2 to Detroit or as low as No. 5 to Arizona.
It reminds me of when I read about Deion Sanders getting arrested a number of years ago. I thought "oh no not another athelete" but it seems he and a buddy tossed a skiff over a chain link fence at an airport in florida and were bass fishing a pond on airport property. When ordered to leave he asked them to leave the summons on the truck saying fishing was to good to stop now. It is nice to know that some of them still have their priorities in place.
I love this guy! We need to have an I fish football jersey made with his name on it and sent it to him! His father has taught him well...put family and fishing first...we all know that a fam that fishes together stays together! Being @ the draft is work and even football players need their vacation.
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RazorClam
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NFL top prospect skips draft to fish
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