Dallas Cowboys Star Weighs in on NBA-NFL Athlete Debate

Almost like two siblings fighting over which one will get the bigger piece of cake, NFL and NBA players have been debating whether or not NBA or NFL athletes would be able to play the other sport. All of this started when NBA player Austin Rivers said that NBA players could play in the NFL. NFL players, sports commentators, and, of course, social media were all very quick to join in on this debate and put in their two cents.

However, no name has been as big as Micah Parsons, the star running back from the Dallas Cowboys. He shared strong statements on the debate.

Micah Parsons Does Not Hold Back Opinion

Micah Parsons was very clear on his standpoint on the matter, and in fact, even seemed to turn the table from the NBA players being able to play in the NFL to NFL players being able to play in the NBA.  He made his remarks after former guard Lou Williams  said the following on “Underground Lounge” podcast:

“My problem where this conversation is going is I don’t like the fact that the NFL players are saying, their argument is, ‘Y’all soft. Y’all flop.’ This and that…Let’s be clear, y’alll [eplicit] flop too. Is football more than running, jumping, catching? Hell yeah. It’s agility It’s smart. It’s chess. It’s being able to beat your man off the line. Trying to teach somebody in front of you that’s trying to beat you off the line.

“I respect all of that [explicit].  But when we start getting into the conversation about basketball players being soft this and that, basketball is way more contact than we get credit for… Let’s talk about skill.”

Micah Parsons responded on X with a very short but direct message:

“I dead a– watch mf go 0 points and play 30 minutes ! I it ain’t hard to dunk or make a lay up,”

Could NBA or NFL Players Switch Sports?

The short answer is that it’s complicated. Travis Kelce believes that Lebron James could join the league and immediately become one of, if not the greatest, tight ends in the league. Is there truth to that? Maybe not entirely, but a Lebron James in his prime could have almost certainly been at least a starting tight end for someone if he practiced enough.

The thing is, elite talent is elite talent. Many current NBA and NFL players were recruited highly out of high school for the other sport. One example of this is Puka Nacua. Puka Nacua who was the greatest rookie receiver last year in the NFL also was the starting point guard for a state championship team in high school. It’s very realistic to believe that he could have developed into NBA talent had he decided to go that route.

While most NFL players probably couldn’t go into an NBA game right now and play well, with a bit of conditioning and training, who knows, maybe a few could. The same goes for NBA players. While NBA players do make contact, they may struggle to take a full-on hit in pads or understand the schemes or in-depth ins and outs of the NFL.

In other words, could NBA or NFL players switch sports and play tomorrow? Probably not. Are there some that could spend a year or two getting the sport down and then play well? No doubt.

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