Since we last posted on Kansas City Chiefs LB Tamba Hali, the news that he is not attending the 2011 Pro Bowl has become official. Hali was selected as a replacement for Pittsburgh Steelers LB James Harrison, who is playing in the Super Bowl, but he will not play in the game apparently for personal reasons.
When we first heard he wasn't playing, we assumed it was injury. Kent Babb of the KC Star detailed this week a few of the injuries in which Hali was going through at the end of the season so it made sense he wouldn't want to deal with the added injury risk in the game.
Apparently, that's not the case. The KC Star reported Tuesday that he requested out of the game for personal reasons. NFL.com lists the players missing for injury, personal and Super Bowl reasons and Hali's name isn't listed under any of them.
I suppose Chiefs fans can consider it good news that he's not pulling out for injury, even though there's still eight months (or more) before the next game, and plenty of time to recover.