Guess what? Larry Fitzgerald still won't say he's retired. The man is being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame Saturday, five years from last playing, and when I asked him Thursday at his HoF press conference, he was blunt.
With a smile, sure. But blunt.
"I have not committed to retirement," Fitzgerald said.
Why, I asked. Seriously, what is the reason? Well, when Fitzgerald was young, his grandfather would talk with his longtime friend, a man who played college football with Fitz's grandfather. The two would have a conversation Fitzgerald has never forgotten.
"They'd talk about retirement killing more people in our country than anything," Fitzgerald said. "It always stuck with me. I just don't believe in retirement. I just think you transition into different phases, especially as an athlete. I was done at 38. Retire? There is no retirement in sight.
"I protest the word more than the actual thing. So I just won't acknowledge that."