Since when did a little shaking of the brain become such a
big issue? Lawsuits regarding
concussions and head trauma tear into the beloved physicality of professional
football. In a game destined for pain
and potential injuries, the NFL can only provide so much protection to players
who voluntarily put their health at risk.
With all of the lawsuits, too much blame is placed on the
NFL while the players are the only ones who can prevent concussions. The NFL commissioner has no way of slowing
down the strongest athletes in the world.
Retired players and advocates for change need to recheck their
arguments, not increase litigation.
I love sports, contact sports. Through ice hockey and football, a large
portion of my life has been spent inside a helmet. My dad is in his forty-sixth straight year of
ice hockey and his father played linebacker at Princeton. My whole family knows contact sports and the
associated health risks. I have been
knocked out, concussed three separate times.
Never once did I hesitate to return to the game, nor did my family or
myself blame others for my head trauma.
From my own experience and love for sports, I am sick with
the actions of former NFL players. First of all, I have no clue why retired
players are surprised by the long-term effects of their past head injuries. It comes as no surprise that a career full of
blows to the head increases the chances of neurodegenerative
diseases such as Alzheimer’s and dementia.
After all, a concussion is technically a type of shaking of the brain. That can’t be good.
The players are the ones who are
voluntarily playing this brutal sport.
No one is forcing them to collide at full speeds. It takes an incredible athlete to perform in
the NFL. Only the strongest, fastest and
most violent get to start for a professional team. It doesn’t take a neuroscience genius to
acknowledge the high risk of injury in this situation.
Initially athletes play football for
fun, for “the love of the game.” It is
their dream to play in the NFL. This
somewhat childish utopian view instantly changes once dollar signs are thrown
into the mix. Just like investing, higher
risks equal higher rewards, or losses.
Despite having a concussion, players will lie and cheat on medical exams
in order to get back on the field where performance is complimented with
compensation.
The NFL continues to implement
mandatory medical tests to determine if a player is concussed. Also, the NFL provides the absolute best
material and technology in their helmets.
The NFL donated thirty million dollars to concussion research for players and military members. Finally,
the NFL fines players for head-to-head contact and unnecessary roughness on
defenseless players. In short, the NFL
has done everything in their power in an attempt to prevent concussions.
These mandatory tests are only effective if every player,
coach and trainer honestly follows them.
In a recent ESPN article,
rookie sensation Robert Griffin lll took a huge hit to the head and underwent
concussion tests. The Redskins training
and coaching staff labeled Griffin as “shaken up” on the team’s formal injury
report. If labeled as concussed, Griffin
would miss games. The Redskins could not
afford that. Despite actually suffering
a concussion, Griffin’s shaken up status prevented him from missing any playing
time.
What good are these mandatory tests and regulations
implemented by the NFL if teams don’t abide?
Picture this: you are sick. You
go to the doctor and he prescribes you medications and dietary adjustments. You do not follow the doctor’s orders. You become even sicker. Can you honestly blame the doctor? No- you
were given precise instructions and failed to abide. Now substitute the Doctor for the NFL and the
sick patient for the combination of players, coaches and trainers. Bottom-line: listen to the doctor.
Retired players are suing the NFL claiming that information
regarding head trauma was purposely withheld from the public. Are you kidding me? As cliché as it may sound, everyone is responsible
for their own actions. These players
knew the risks of this physical sport and made their own decision to play. Current players should try this: if you don’t
remember the previous play, notify the trainer and keep your future in
mind. If time flies when you’re having
fun, then time teleports when you don’t remember anything.
You are right that players are responsible for their own health. They are not babies anymore, and NFL is not a babysitter. Unfortunately, to purposely withheld health information may happened, but I do not believe as many times as the law suits numbers. I think when people are young, they really don't think as much as they should.
ReplyDeleteWell it sounds like you are pinpointing the problem exactly--that the players are not following orders. You've made it clear that the NFL cares, as they have added extra padding to their helmets and donate to research, but if fail to stop injured players from going back into the game before they are supposed to, then they are not doing their job. Having played high school sports, I had many coaches encourage me to go in with injuries, and I have seen my team members continue to practice with concussions. It's not safe. The coaches seem to have trouble separating safety from winning, and that's where I believe the problem is. When you work all season to get your team to the best place they can be and then in 5 seconds your best player is out, you don't want to throw it all away and have nothing to show for it, both for the team and also yourself. But the reality is, you should care for your players safety and you really should have strong enough alternates to be able to sub in.
ReplyDeleteAnother issue that leads to high speed collisions in the NFL is the fan's love for big hits. Tying this back to the recent blog post, "Sports Economics: Mo' Money, Mo' Problems", fans love to see huge hits (i). TV broadcasts replay concussion-serving hits over and over again as the victims lie unconscious on the field. Players look to deliver these huge hits in order to appease the fans and bring national attention upon themselves. For example, Monday Night Countdown is ESPN's 2 hour pregame show leading up to the Monday Night Football game. Several years ago they had a segment of the show called "Jacked Up" which counted down the 5 biggest hits from Sunday's games. Fans, including myself, loved this segment and the term "jacked up" became commonplace in contact sports. While players and coaches are too blame, so too are the fans and the love of witnessing physical abuse.
ReplyDelete(i)http://18thataugusta.blogspot.com/2012/10/sports-economics-mo-money-mo-problems.html
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with this post. This reminds me of when a person spills a hot cup of coffee on themselves and then sues a company because they were burned. It should not be the NFLs fault if a player chooses to forgo the advice of a doctor.
ReplyDeleteAs an athlete there were numerous times when a doctor told me to hold off from practicing for a week or two to recover. I felt that this would be detrimental to my training so I ignored the doctor’s recommendations. Naturally, my condition worsened and when it came time to race, I could not give it my all because I never let my body recover. I understand the temptation to continue to train or play; however, I never thought it was the doctors fault that I did not end up racing well. It was my own fault and the burned rested on my shoulders, not the doctors. The same is true here.
It’s a little funny to think that these players could not have guessed what would happen to the their bodies after repeated concussions (with or without research being done), so at the same time I see these lawsuits as an issue of opportunism. As ridiculous as these lawsuits may sound they will have their day in court because of the highly adversarial legal system we live in. In one way or another we have all benefited from adversarial legalism, so my hope would be that when that day does come, the NFL has a team of great lawyers representing them that will be able to convey the idiocy of these lawsuits, and also that the judges on the bench would rule accordingly.
ReplyDelete