National Football League

Lions CB Darius Slay explains why the Pro Bowl is 'pointless'

Published Dec. 14, 2016 6:53 p.m. ET

Andrew Lynch

Did you remember to vote for the 2017 NFL Pro Bowl?

If not, I'm afraid to inform you that the ballot is officially closed — and for the second straight season, it appears as if NFL fans might snub Detroit Lions cornerback Darius Slay, one of the league's top defenders.

Yet with the Pro Bowl itself on the move this season, Slay says he won't exactly be heartbroken if he doesn't make the cut. In fact, Slay went so far as to call the entire game "pointless" if players don't get to take a wintertime trip to Hawaii.

Via ESPN.com:

"As long as my teammates really see me as a Pro Bowl player, I ain't really worried because I feel it's a politic thing anyway," Slay said. "But I would just like to. But, I'm mad. Is the Pro Bowl even in Hawaii no more? It's really pointless. That's what I really wanted to do.

"That's why I wanted to go. I'd rather just get the All-Pro status and don't go Pro Bowl. Because I just really wanted to go to Hawaii, really wanted to just to go to Hawaii for the free."

For the season, Slay has 49 tackles, one forced fumble, 13 passes deflected, and two INTs. The Lions, meanwhile, rank 10th in scoring defense and 15th in total defense in 2016, and they face the New York Giants in Week 15. Slay told reporters that his son is a big fan of Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. — but not too big of a fan.

https://twitter.com/davebirkett/status/809130856627523584

This past offseason, the NFL announced the Pro Bowl would be relocated from Honolulu to Orlando for the 2017 edition of the game. The stadium previously known as the Citrus Bowl recently underwent a $200 million in renovations in hopes of attracting the NFL. The Pro Bowl had been played in Hawaii since 1979, with the exception of two years. In 2010, the game was played in Miami prior to the Super Bowl, with a similar arrangement taking place in Glendale, Ariz., in 2015.