Brendon Ayanbadejo defends Mets infielder Daniel Murphy over paternity leave issue

For all the baseball fans, you're probably aware that New York Mets infielder Daniel Murphy decided to miss the first couple of games this season due to the birth of his child.

Yes, athletes get paid a lot of money for what they do. But there is something human about witnessing your child's birth. I'm not a parent myself so I don't know what would feel like. I won't pretend to know either.

That said, you can't help but feel every person, regardless of their profession, should be able to experience the joy in being with their child for the first moments of his or her life. Therefore, it's somewhat appalling that a minority in the media would question this — especially in baseball when there are 162 freakin' games.

This inspired former Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo to pen a column for FOX Sports, in which he tackles this topic. After spending the 2003 and 2004 seasons with the Miami Dolphins, Ayanbadejo approached then-Dolphins coach Nick Saban about missing a training camp practice to be there for the birth of his daughter in August of 2005.

"He made it clear that he expected me to be around and not miss any practice for this special moment for my family," Ayanbadejo wrote.

Now, I'm not going to summarize the rest because it's his column. Read his account HERE.

Point is, it's ludicrous for any profession to ask an employee to put their job before their family. Joe Flacco missed a mandatory minicamp practice in 2012 to witness the birth of his first child. He did miss the birth of his second child to lead the Ravens to a 14-6 win over the Browns this past season.

Family should always come first and each soon-to-be father should have the option of choosing where he will be the day their child is born. Anyone criticizing Murphy should be ashamed. Just like Saban should if in fact he held a grudge against Ayanbadejo for his choice.

(Then again, Saban feels NOTHING, but that has already been etched into stone as a fact.)