Bills GM Doug Whaley backtracks on his declaration that humans aren’t meant to play football

Turns out humans are supposed to play football after all.

The Buffalo Bills released a statement Wednesday in which the team’s general manager basically took back a comment he made on radio a day earlier that seemed to suggest he felt football isn’t all that safe.

“Clearly I used a poor choice of words in my comment yesterday morning,” Whaley said in the statement. “As a former player who has the utmost respect and love for the game, the point that I was trying to make is that football is a physical game and injuries are a part of it. Playing football no doubt is very physically, mentally, and emotionally challenging, and that is all part of what makes the game so compelling to play and watch “

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Whaley went on to trumpet the leaps in player safety the NFL has made in recent years.

“The game has more protection for players now than ever, thanks largely to the safety advancements and numerous rule changes made by our league and promoted to all levels of football,” he stated. “I believe our game continues to have a bright future and I hope that this statement provides clarity as to the intent of my earlier comment.”

On Tuesday, Whaley made headlines when a discussion about Bills receiver Sammy Watkins, who battled multiple injuries last season and underwent foot surgery during the off-season, led to a general comment about the safety of the game.

“This is the game of football. Injuries are part of it,” Whaley said. “It’s a violent game that I personally don’t think humans are supposed to play.”

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charles.schilken@latimes.com

Twitter: @chewkiii