I mean, the argument about choosing to do something else has merit... but so does saying that playing in the NFL, even on the practice squad, is a better gig than the vast majority of most people on this planet, or even educated first world adults, are ever gonna get. So, yeah, it's a "choice," but taking your communications degree into the real world is gonna net you $30k, whereas one year on an active roster is gonna net you a minimum of $705,000.
Now, that doesn't make me feel bad in the least that they have to pay for a boxed meal at the end of the day, though. So do most of us.