Peek Will Sit Out 2016 Tour
Doctor's orders sideline Alabama pro
Alabama pro Richard Peek will forego the 2016 Walmart FLW Tour season to resolve back problems. Peek, of Centre, Ala., was told by his doctor that he should take off a year from tournament fishing so that surgery or other measures could be performed to correct a spinal deformity and relieve his pain.
Senior Director of Tournament Operations Bill Taylor says Peek will be granted a medical exemption based on the doctor’s recommendation and could return to the Tour in 2017.
Peek has suffered from back pain associated with a curved spine for several years, but the 28-year-old notes that the condition has gotten worse since he began fishing the Tour in 2011.
“It could get better in two or three months without surgery, or else I’ll have to undergo surgery and then be on the mend for several months,” says Peek. “Basically the doctor told me I might be able to build up muscle mass in my back to the point that it would help relieve some of the pressure on my spine.
“If that doesn’t work, though, I’ll have to have the surgery – maybe laser surgery,” he adds. “I’ve got to do something now or I won’t have a career. I’ve been wanting to get it fixed for a while, but anything I do is going to be pretty substantial and take up some time.”
Peek says he was born with a curved spine, and when he was younger he wore a back brace to help alleviate the pain that it caused. Every six months, he says, he would have X-rays, but doctors couldn’t detect any improvement. Through his college fishing career, up until now, Peek has worn a back brace during competition days. More recently, he adds, he’s had to wear a brace even during practice rounds or the pain in his back would become almost unbearable.
“To be able to fish the Tour and those big lakes, you have to be physically able to compete and give it everything you’ve got, and I just can’t do that now. I told Bill [Taylor] that the 2016 schedule was the best ever as far as I’m concerned, but a fisherman has to be in good shape to fish those big lakes, and I’m just not there right now.”
Peek has contacted his sponsors and told them of his decision to suspend his pro career in 2016.
“They’ve been understanding and accommodating,” he says. “I’m going to work as hard as I can for them next year – doing seminars, helping design lures and tackle, pitching in at special events – whatever I’m able to do, I’ll do it. The main thing is, I want to get back in shape to continue my career.”
Peek adds that there is a slim chance he might fish one of the FLW Series Divisions (Southeastern, Northern or Central), depending on the extent of his treatments and how quickly his condition improves.