CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The third time,
Thomas Davis quit.
Out on the field, his
Carolina Panthers were battling the Packers in the fourth quarter of the second game of the 2011 season. But underneath the stands, in the team doctor's office, Davis' right knee bulged with fluid and blood. Just as it had both other times.
Just a few minutes earlier, Davis had been trying to tackle the Packers'
James Starks when one of his own linemen accidentally leg-whipped him. Now, Dr. Pat Connor did the Lachman test and the pivot-shift test -- the two standard ways to check for a torn anterior cruciate ligament. He moved Davis' knee joint up and down and side to side. It went where it was not supposed to go. Davis and Connor and Panthers trainer Ryan Vermillion talked quietly in the little room. Through the concrete they could hear the muted boom of the 73,000 fans outside, like a party at the neighbor's house. The diagnosis wouldn't be official until they did an MRI. But Davis knew.
He called teammate
Jon Beason, who was in bed recovering from his own surgery for an Achilles tendon tear.
This is it, Davis said.
No one's going to want me.
That night he talked it over with his wife, Kelly. This time he'd get a cadaver ligament to replace his ACL. It wasn't flexible enough for pro football, but maybe he could shoot hoops at the gym. The rehab wouldn't be as hard. He wouldn't have to train for the torque and thrust of life as an NFL linebacker. He'd stop when he was well enough to run around the backyard with his kids.
At first, he felt peace. No NFL player -- no pro athlete of any kind -- had come back from three ACL tears on the same knee. There was no point in thinking about it.
Then he thought about it.
He thought about all he had gone through that everyone knew about. He thought about the one thing almost nobody knew about.
The next morning, he showed up at Panthers practice. And he got ready to start over again.
Ill make it back
Breh Ive torn my ACL and know exactly how rehab goes, its tough physically and mentally. My post was more so saying this guy is a Superman to go through that 3 times and still play at a high level. 
