- I got to ask you, Liz, I saw you at the game
when Alex played, and Alex you know,
I don't know if you heard my reaction.
My reaction to his injury,
because we saw Dak Prescott go to similar
quarterback to Dallas- - Yup, yup.
- But I saw Liz, I saw you,
and such great respect for your husband.
I did not want him back on that field.
Knowing what he had gone through.
- Did it scare you, is that why you're saying?
- It did, it made me so uncomfortable
and she was grabbing her face.
The kids were playing like daddy's playing,
but Alex went out there and I'm just, I couldn't watch.
We had Fox in the studio out.
We could not watch.
I didn't want you playing, you know,
after what you'd been through.
I did not want to see you on that football field.
And I just got ask you, why?
What did you have to go?
Why did you have to go back out on that field?
- I get it, I get it.
I definitely understand, and believe me,
there was a long time when I couldn't even think about
going back on the football field, getting tackled again,
and especially by the 300 pound guy.
Having Aaron Donald jump on your back.
But for me, I spent a lot of sleepless nights
and a lot of days sittin' in a wheelchair in a hospital bed,
wondering if and what I'd ever be able to do again.
And I'm so lucky that this has progressed,
that my recovery has progressed to the point where
even when I got to contemplate playing football again,
and then it kept progressing even further.
And I've been blessed, there's been a lot of progress
in this field made by a lot of people,
especially service men and women before me
that I've benefited from.
And I really felt like how often do you get presented
with something like this in life?
And I couldn't turn it down.
And like I said, although I just remember thinkin'
all those times when I was wheelchair bound,
like wondering what I'd ever be able to do again,
and here all of a sudden I have this opportunity
to maybe go put cleats on and a helmet
and go out there, as scary as that seems,
and I just couldn't turn it down.
- Can I, Liz, quickly?
Did you ever tell him, "Please, honey, don't play any more"?
- Yeah. - And if she would have
said that, Alex, would you have listened?
I'm sorry, I didn't mean to- - No, I love it.
It's great. - Yeah.
- No, I had as much apprehension,
if not more than anybody watching that day,
clearly I'm quite anxious.
This has been something that's built up, but I get it.
Like, I didn't understand it when he had the drive.
I said, "Why?"
Like, let's move on with our lives
and go be with our kids and live a good life.
But I think the more that Alex
kept pushing through and explained it to me,
it was bigger than football.
When people go through devastating injuries,
whether it's a football player, someone in a car accident,
service men and women, it's emotional, mental,
physical toll on your body.
And I think for Alex to be able to set foot
back out there was a challenge to himself
and he wanted to meet that challenge.
And I understood that portion of it.
And I know that had he not done that
we would look back in 20 years
and he wouldn't be happy knowing
that he at least gave it a try.
- Yeah, and I mean to Alex's point, I mean,
it's not your job to make people feel comfortable,
it's your job to live your life, like how you want,
you know what I'm saying?
Like at the same time, it's like,
well, this is my life, you know?
It is kind of an amazing thing to show your children
while it is a scary thing, and I'm sure that's why
she was like, (comically shouts) like during the game.
(Liz chuckles) But while it is a scary thing,
it is, I guess it is kind of cool
to really still pursue your dreams
and show your kids like what you're made of.
Because I have had friends that have gone through
rehab and recovery in that sense,
and that's a really hardcore process,
like that will test you.
I feel like watching, like more emotionally and mentally,
not just physically, like, was that really hard?
- Oh, I think you're exactly right.
It was more of the mental toll.
And I even think going back to, I mean,
we all have those negative thoughts
and dark thoughts, right?
And dark times when life comes at us,
and like I said, for me,
I almost felt like I built up a bunch of walls
in my head of things that I'd never be able to do again.
And then all of a sudden the ball started rolling on rehab,
and I slowly got to start breaking down some of those walls.
And it started with walking,
I mean, I had to learn how to walk again.
But all of a sudden it felt amazing to be able
to break down a wall and I wanted
to break through the next one and then the next one,
and it kind of kept going and all of a sudden, yeah.
I mean, the ultimate wall for me was to be able
to play quarterback at the NFL level again.
Like I said, how could you turn down
a challenge like that?
For me, it was very, very cathartic to pursue it.
- I mean, at the end of the day,
it's your journey and it's your family's journey,
and you all make the decision together.