It's worth noting that if Calvin Johnson took two doses of Vicodin during a football game, he was exceeding the recommended dose. And although most of the attention on this drug is on the opioid that's in it, it is the Tylenol in it that can be just as deadly. Exceeding the recommended dose of Tylenol can destroy your liver. And if that happens unless you can get a liver transplant, you're dead.
Article after article personalizing the horrible effects of CTE. Comment after comment heaping scorn on the culture of football. I get all that. I'm seventy years old. I played seven years of tackle football back in the fifties and sixties (seventh grade through freshman college). I pay for those hits every day.
But I've got to say it...I loved playing football. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
No one speaks to this point. Football is fun. Anyone who thinks those boys are out there on Saturday or Sunday just to earn a living doesn't understand the challenge and excitement of playing the game. The barely controlled violence of the action just makes it more addictive.
Somewhat ironically, my last football injury lead directly to my life long career in physical therapy. I had the chance to treat an athlete or two over this time. Very, very few considered their injury reason enough to quit their sport.
A serious discussion of sports injury needs to include this dynamic.
But I've got to say it...I loved playing football. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
No one speaks to this point. Football is fun. Anyone who thinks those boys are out there on Saturday or Sunday just to earn a living doesn't understand the challenge and excitement of playing the game. The barely controlled violence of the action just makes it more addictive.
Somewhat ironically, my last football injury lead directly to my life long career in physical therapy. I had the chance to treat an athlete or two over this time. Very, very few considered their injury reason enough to quit their sport.
A serious discussion of sports injury needs to include this dynamic.
3
The idea that anyone living today could be among "one of the first to question the hold of this violent sport on our culture and psyches" is ludicrous.
At the beginning of the 20th century, many people including the president of Harvard were already questioning this very thing. And this issue was already being widely reported in newspapers including The Times.
Anybody who claims that the severe harm playing football can do to the human body and the refusal of many to acknowledge this are recent discoveries is ignoring history.
At the beginning of the 20th century, many people including the president of Harvard were already questioning this very thing. And this issue was already being widely reported in newspapers including The Times.
Anybody who claims that the severe harm playing football can do to the human body and the refusal of many to acknowledge this are recent discoveries is ignoring history.
Gladiator events that result in the physical and mental injury of the players to the delight of the roaring crowds is and old and evil part of humanity. It must be stopped, as it is immoral and destructive to the spirit of America.
I think Autzen, the home of the University of Oregon, needs to be padlocked to insure the safety of the young men who attend the University of Oregon. Anyone who differs is, well, unable to feel the suffering of his/her fellow humans, and shrinks have a name for that.
Hugh Massengill, Eugene
I think Autzen, the home of the University of Oregon, needs to be padlocked to insure the safety of the young men who attend the University of Oregon. Anyone who differs is, well, unable to feel the suffering of his/her fellow humans, and shrinks have a name for that.
Hugh Massengill, Eugene
1
Compare football to rugby. Could it be that changes to rules and equipment would make football much less dangerous? The analogy to fighting in hockey is also useful. If the popularity of a "sport" (entertainment/business) is so connected to violence, a decent society must take steps to change it or eliminate it. And of course the ultimate sports dilemma...boxing. So, are we more civilized than the Romans and their gladiators, or just another, more "modern" version of the same primitive excuse for human cruelty?
With all our choices for pastimes, that NFL fans so casually choose a hobby which is toxic to the players is sad (though typical). As fans, we are complicit in these shortened, altered and painful lives. The game will change as equipment improves and the field itself is made softer but until then, fans who see the players as disposable and these games as pastime are enabling the NFL to trade the brain cells of others for the pleasure of the lucky.
3
It's no coincidence that football also has the weakest of various the player's unions. In baseball and basketball strong unions have made those games safer and shifted some of the bloated profits owners were taking home back to the players where the money belongs.
And in football, the money isn't even guaranteed. In many cases, the guaranteed money runs out. The player can be cut and not paid the remainder of the contract. There is no such concept in baseball.
And in football, the money isn't even guaranteed. In many cases, the guaranteed money runs out. The player can be cut and not paid the remainder of the contract. There is no such concept in baseball.
4
Back in the mid 1970's, a Canadian study regarding knee injuries caused by tackle football had an affect on the high school level in that country. Maybe the Times can check this out to see what the final affect on the sport there was.
I would presume that at some time in the future, insurance companies will stop insuring high school and college football and the talent pipeline to the NFL will dry up.
1
I deeply appreciate the moral stance the Times is taking on the larger issue of whether football is a sustainable enterprise. Their lead-up to the Super Bowl seems focused less on "The Big Game" and more on The Big Picture, which is that this sport is maiming men of all ages-- body, mind and spirit.
I can't overstate how much I love football. I grew up watching and playing it, and I've even considered writing a book about it. But it's a barbaric sport whose values should no longer reflect our own. We need to grow up as a nation; we need to stop destroying each other and calling it sport. It's brutality. It's cruel and unusual punishment that is making young men unable to sleep without pain medication; there are 30-year-old men walking around with brains as damaged as 90-year-old men with dementia. Please think about what that means.
If you watch the game this weekend, remember one thing: You're condoning lives of pain and suffering, both physical and mental. You're saying: I don't care about the welfare of others; I care about being entertained.
I recommend going bowling instead. Pins never suffered debilitating and permanent injuries from getting whacked around.
I can't overstate how much I love football. I grew up watching and playing it, and I've even considered writing a book about it. But it's a barbaric sport whose values should no longer reflect our own. We need to grow up as a nation; we need to stop destroying each other and calling it sport. It's brutality. It's cruel and unusual punishment that is making young men unable to sleep without pain medication; there are 30-year-old men walking around with brains as damaged as 90-year-old men with dementia. Please think about what that means.
If you watch the game this weekend, remember one thing: You're condoning lives of pain and suffering, both physical and mental. You're saying: I don't care about the welfare of others; I care about being entertained.
I recommend going bowling instead. Pins never suffered debilitating and permanent injuries from getting whacked around.
4
Of course the horrible news is true and those who can't face it for whatever reason are just in denial because most of us love football too much.
This last college season no player was more fun to watch for me than Christian McCaffrey, who could cut, dodge and accelerate past fast defensive backs.
His grandfather, David Sim was, a renowned eye surgeon and formerly the fastest man in the world.
I watch Christian and wonder how he can escape the fate of Stabler or Payton or any of yesterday's stars that we are reading about who can no longer move or think.
Another physical work of art -- Cam Newton is another one -- fed to the football god like virgins dropped by the Aztecs into a pit.
Christian can't be dumb since he's from Stanford as are his mother and father
I have a hunch that what he does will mark the tug of war over footballs' fate and that what we are seeing is the equivalent of the first surgeon's report about cigarette smoking.
I cannot imagine what can be done to both make football safe and maintain it as an anology for war and our Roman Circus.
The billionaires that own the teams, the networks and newspapers which ride this popularity, the tens of millions of fans who depend on these games to fill holes in their lives -- how can any of them afford to face this music?
nobody can overstate this...
The nation's sport has begun to unravel.
This last college season no player was more fun to watch for me than Christian McCaffrey, who could cut, dodge and accelerate past fast defensive backs.
His grandfather, David Sim was, a renowned eye surgeon and formerly the fastest man in the world.
I watch Christian and wonder how he can escape the fate of Stabler or Payton or any of yesterday's stars that we are reading about who can no longer move or think.
Another physical work of art -- Cam Newton is another one -- fed to the football god like virgins dropped by the Aztecs into a pit.
Christian can't be dumb since he's from Stanford as are his mother and father
I have a hunch that what he does will mark the tug of war over footballs' fate and that what we are seeing is the equivalent of the first surgeon's report about cigarette smoking.
I cannot imagine what can be done to both make football safe and maintain it as an anology for war and our Roman Circus.
The billionaires that own the teams, the networks and newspapers which ride this popularity, the tens of millions of fans who depend on these games to fill holes in their lives -- how can any of them afford to face this music?
nobody can overstate this...
The nation's sport has begun to unravel.
3
Listing other sports and equating their dangers with football is silly. "Why not ban car racing, skiing, surfing, etc., etc...." Do you guys really not see the difference? In those sports, injury and danger are results of accidents and mistakes. Football has danger built in as integral to success on the field, on every play. You must hit someone in order to tackle them and stop their forward progress. Players along the line of scrimmage make contact--and often helmet contact--forty to sixty times a game. To win at football, you must use your body against another player's body, with full-speed collisions as not only the direct result, but the desired result. In auto racing, the goal is to avoid the other cars. Skiers try to avoid collision and stay on their feet. Surfing is about staying in the board. Football is about using your body in a dangerous way. Life-altering injuries are not anomalies; they're the norm, whether they're as serious as CTE and broken vertebrae, or as "non-serious" as knee and shoulder damage, turf toe, etc. It's not about accidental danger, which we all risk in life, every day. It's about celebrating the role violence must be used to have success at this sport, and the dire results of that play-to-play, mandated violence.
6
What on earth has happened to the New York Times?
Let's get real. The risks of playing professional football have been well-known for a very long time. Instead of reading about the 90 players who donated their brains and were found to have CTE, I would like to hear about the four who donated their brains and were found not to have CTE. I cannot recall a single story, or even paragraph, in all of this that addressed these four cases. The inconvenient truth remains: There have been no studies whatsoever to establish the prevalence of CTE in pro football players, and that is absolutely critical. The Boston University team is studying a self-selected group that donated brains because there was a reason to believe that brain damage had occurred.
Ninety players found to have suffered CTE. That is less than one-eighth of one percent of active (1,700) and retired (12,000) NFL players. Likely, the percentage is higher, given that CTE cannot be diagnosed until after death. But still. All this clap trap about banning football based on diagnoses that are pitifully short of any solid conclusion that brain damage is the exception, rather than the rule.
I expect more of NYT. I really do. Hasn't the paper learned anything from the Judith Miller debacle? I would like to see balanced, informative reporting on this issue based on facts, not emotion. CTE is absolutely an important issue in the NFL. But report with honesty and integrity.
Let's get real. The risks of playing professional football have been well-known for a very long time. Instead of reading about the 90 players who donated their brains and were found to have CTE, I would like to hear about the four who donated their brains and were found not to have CTE. I cannot recall a single story, or even paragraph, in all of this that addressed these four cases. The inconvenient truth remains: There have been no studies whatsoever to establish the prevalence of CTE in pro football players, and that is absolutely critical. The Boston University team is studying a self-selected group that donated brains because there was a reason to believe that brain damage had occurred.
Ninety players found to have suffered CTE. That is less than one-eighth of one percent of active (1,700) and retired (12,000) NFL players. Likely, the percentage is higher, given that CTE cannot be diagnosed until after death. But still. All this clap trap about banning football based on diagnoses that are pitifully short of any solid conclusion that brain damage is the exception, rather than the rule.
I expect more of NYT. I really do. Hasn't the paper learned anything from the Judith Miller debacle? I would like to see balanced, informative reporting on this issue based on facts, not emotion. CTE is absolutely an important issue in the NFL. But report with honesty and integrity.
1
The risks of playing football have long been known. But CTE became widely known after the debilitation and death of Mike Webster of the Pittsburgh Steelers. That's when the lid came off the horrible effects of repeated head trauma.
BU has found evidence of CTE in 96% of the brains donated by former football players and you think they're jumping to conclusions? Forty percent of those who tested positive were offensive or defensive linemen who came into contact with one another on every play of the game. What positions did the four players who tested negative play? Yes, the brains tested were donated by players who suspected they had problems, but should that completely negate the results of the tests? Of course not.
Repeated head trauma is very bad for one's health. Watch any football game, especially at the professional level, and witness how many times players take savage hits to the head. Are fans supposed to accept that there's no correlation and discourage remedial action, as the NFL would prefer? Why, because we want to be entertained? Where's the "integrity" in that?
BU has found evidence of CTE in 96% of the brains donated by former football players and you think they're jumping to conclusions? Forty percent of those who tested positive were offensive or defensive linemen who came into contact with one another on every play of the game. What positions did the four players who tested negative play? Yes, the brains tested were donated by players who suspected they had problems, but should that completely negate the results of the tests? Of course not.
Repeated head trauma is very bad for one's health. Watch any football game, especially at the professional level, and witness how many times players take savage hits to the head. Are fans supposed to accept that there's no correlation and discourage remedial action, as the NFL would prefer? Why, because we want to be entertained? Where's the "integrity" in that?
4
CTE is the new scourge but it will not go away, regardless of how much spin the NFL puts on it. Small wonder that many current NFL players are forbidding their children to play tackle football because they see the full force of damage on NFL turfs every game. Here's the problem: The NFL is as powerful a money making machine as any corporation in the world. Regardless of any steps the NFL takes to reduce the chances of CTE by modifying equipment or penalizing helmet to helmet collisions, the NFL above everything understands that football fans have a gladiator mentality of last man standing and panders to that mentality. What will ultimately break the NFL's deathgrip on the sport is the start of high schools doing away with football. That will have a ripple effect into the colleges, which will then drain the talent pool called the NFL draft. I am a football fan, a big fan of the Giants, but I will gladly find something else to do once tackle football as a sporting event becomes extinct. It will take years but it will come.
8
The inability of youth organizations, high schools and universities to obtain insurance will likely be the first death blow.
An lets not forget that massive class action lawsuits that cost corporations hundreds of millions of dollars also seem to help bring about quick change.
An lets not forget that massive class action lawsuits that cost corporations hundreds of millions of dollars also seem to help bring about quick change.
1
The NFL is a TV show, a proven way to turn 10 million or 100 million violence-craving viewers into 5 million or 50 million beer drinkers, every Sunday. Anything that weakens a link in that chain is a no-go.
5
For a lot of these players, particularly in college and the NFL, what is their alternative to success but through this sport?
Guaranteed college scholarships are a must. Further, pay those in college a decent wage and allow them to organize. We get our thrills; make sure they are paid properly.
Also, change the rules to better protect against injury. One example only, abolish kickoffs where many injuries occur.
The sport needs to be reformed but not abolished.
Guaranteed college scholarships are a must. Further, pay those in college a decent wage and allow them to organize. We get our thrills; make sure they are paid properly.
Also, change the rules to better protect against injury. One example only, abolish kickoffs where many injuries occur.
The sport needs to be reformed but not abolished.
1
I would like to see football disappear completely. Our thirst for violent sports is no different from Roman spectacles of gladiators beating each other to death or being mauled by lions. Our cheering crowds are no different from the bloodthirsty Romans who signaled a thumb's up or down to save - or throw away - a life. Is it any wonder that so many pro players, like PTSD soldiers returning from the front lines, go home after a game and beat up their spouses and children? "Overstated"? No. If just one person died from brain damage or got abused it would be enough to say "Stop!" Who knows how many athletes are suffering from brain damage? I can't imagine that every single football player doesn't sustain some life-long or life-threatening injuries in his career. Same for boxing.
3
Like boxing, football is a devil's bargain. Young men risk terrible physical damage and diminished later years in return for riches and fame playing the sport they love at the highest level. It's an unfair bargain because it's an uninformed choice. As many studies reveal, even if an athlete, in any sport, is fully informed of the facts, and knows in full detail the pain and suffering to come, is shown pictures of mentally disabled athletes, and has his possible future spelled out for him in detail, he will nonetheless gladly sacrifice his future to be among the best today. He, like all of us, simply cannot fully know what his choice means until he arrives at the point where he must live with the consequences of that choice. Too late. Education is important but will deter very few young athletes. Steroids are another manifestation of of this attitude. Come to think of it, unplanned pregnancies are another. Call it foolish youth. Maybe we should just thank them for their service and let them get on with it.
One could say similar about choosing to be a soldier at the age of 18.
1
I remember reading one boxer saying that boxing was to men what prostitution is to women: you sell your body for money. Football is the same.
1
Overstating the case, as usual , with this column . Powell might be right but his argument relies on flawed suppositions.
1
His "argument" is that football debilitates many of those who played it for a long period of time for the rest of their lives. How is this in any way flawed?
7
I am not a big football fan, I have not watched a game this season but if you look at attendance, memorabilia and the rest of it does a have a large place in America. What is auto racing's place in America, or bicycles etc.?
2
He is right. Football is an anachronism. The only real reason for its existence is that it is big business, and the masses adore it.
7
You are almost right we have football because it is a loved game on all levels.
1
Ban helmets in football. That would reduce the mayhem by at least half, if not more. Think about it–rugby players have.
7
I agree with this and I believe this is the only way for football to survive. As a child and teenager I played tackle football daily. We never wore helmets and naturally we did not use our heads as devices to make tackles. No concussions. It will take time, but it will come to this.
It's not just helmets. You'd have to ban all the plastic pads like shoulder pads.
And rugby is a very different sport as the size of the players is limited by the demands for endurance and agility. How many of those 300+ lb. linemen do you think could continuously run up and down the field as rugby players are required to do.
And rugby is a very different sport as the size of the players is limited by the demands for endurance and agility. How many of those 300+ lb. linemen do you think could continuously run up and down the field as rugby players are required to do.
2
Yes, football is a dangerous sport and can lead to a lifetime of pain and debilitation or even a premature death. So are downhill skiing, snowboarding, surfing, racecar driving, cycling, and aerial gymnastics. Many of the most popular sports you watch in the Olympics are dangerous. Before football is declared too dangerous to continue as a sport, or is heavily revised to make it safer, we should look at injury rates in all sports to see where it stands among others.
7
The current issue specifically for football is CTE, a brain injury. I'm sure for those other sports, it's not even close. Why? Because you have to volunteer your brain for examination after death, and there is no track record of athletes from those other sports doing that. There is no record of those athletes talking about headaches so debilitating that they can do nothing but lie down in a dark, quiet room all day.
Yes, a surfer's shoulders might ache, a skiier's knees might hurt at age 50. But a 50-year-old carpenter's body aches too. But at least they remain of able mind, if not body. There's a huge difference.
Yes, a surfer's shoulders might ache, a skiier's knees might hurt at age 50. But a 50-year-old carpenter's body aches too. But at least they remain of able mind, if not body. There's a huge difference.
13
Add Mr. Carmichael's mountain climbing to this list.
3
Any sport can be dangerous. Yes, there have been a few baseball players killed in the past, which led to batting helmets. Do they protect the batter from every danger? Of course not, but they sure make the game safer.
None of the sports you mention uses their head in a way like football does so they will not see the concussions that football players see. Will they see other sorts of injuries? Certainly.
I seriously doubt that you will find injury rates higher in any of the sports you mentioned when compared to the NFL.
None of the sports you mention uses their head in a way like football does so they will not see the concussions that football players see. Will they see other sorts of injuries? Certainly.
I seriously doubt that you will find injury rates higher in any of the sports you mentioned when compared to the NFL.
1
And what's worse, taxpayers and students fund this game at most universities, with tuition and tax dollars. What if high schools and colleges spent the money that goes toward stadiums and coaches on the student body in general? On education, perhaps?
17
@molly,
While this might be true at some schools, revenue from football pays the bills for many sports that are not as popular with spectators at many schools. Do you like cross-country running? Thank the football program for bringing in the revenue to fund the running team.
While this might be true at some schools, revenue from football pays the bills for many sports that are not as popular with spectators at many schools. Do you like cross-country running? Thank the football program for bringing in the revenue to fund the running team.
2
You are wrong about that, intercollegiate football pays for much more than itself raising funds for schools.
Sort of. Nike and adidas and Underarmour pump a lot of money into uniforms, coaches' salaries, weight rooms, etc. At some of the big schools, they've also built fitness centers for the entire student body to use, not just for the athletes.
But, i do agree with your premise: too much emphasis on athletics and not enough on education.
But, i do agree with your premise: too much emphasis on athletics and not enough on education.
2
Here is a thought: What if OSHA ever got involved with the NFL? What would a safe sport look like? These guys are employees just like everyone working in coal mines, shipyards and fast food restaurants. Why are they not entitled to the same protections?
9
Who knows the state of the NFL in ten, twenty, or thirty years. What so much physical evidence makes abundantly clear is that we do know, precisely, what will be the aggregate state of the current players. Individually, these players are gaming a form of Russian Roulette. And the Emperor increasingly has no clothes, thanks to those who are courageous enough to part the curtains.
5
I played football in high school. My four children played soccer. I laugh when I hear commentators say that we are not leaving our children a better world than the one we entered.
4
Federer tore up his knee and is going to miss some tournaments. It is time for the Times to denounce tennis. Tiger's back has effectively ended his competitive career. Time to jettison golf before Spieth and Day are lamed. Chess is causing a lot of repetitive stress injuries....checkmate.
I get it. The Times hates pro football. Fine. But, please, don't report the Boston U work on CTE as if that is scientific evidence that nearly all NFLers will suffer from brain damage. The brains at BU were self-selected because it felt the donors displayed strong symptoms of damage. Powell's little shuffle about debate on the causes of CTE is quickly followed by a reference to a 27 year old who died of an overdose - what, Sash was so brain damaged from football that he overdosed to quell the "horror cubed"? Come on.
Implying that Willie Wood's current state is related to football is a reach. Every nursing home in America is full of people with dementia who never played a down of football. Give Willie his due as a human being, but don't parade him around as a victim of football until you have some solid evidence. He deserves more respect than that.
I get it. The Times hates pro football. Fine. But, please, don't report the Boston U work on CTE as if that is scientific evidence that nearly all NFLers will suffer from brain damage. The brains at BU were self-selected because it felt the donors displayed strong symptoms of damage. Powell's little shuffle about debate on the causes of CTE is quickly followed by a reference to a 27 year old who died of an overdose - what, Sash was so brain damaged from football that he overdosed to quell the "horror cubed"? Come on.
Implying that Willie Wood's current state is related to football is a reach. Every nursing home in America is full of people with dementia who never played a down of football. Give Willie his due as a human being, but don't parade him around as a victim of football until you have some solid evidence. He deserves more respect than that.
7
Hello! What do you think is happening when people's heads are being bashed and their bodies crushed? It doesn't take any more "solid evidence" than simply watching a game to know that it is a danger to the men playing it. The NYT is simply reporting what the country is finally waking up to.
1
Comparing the dangers of tennis and football is disingenuous, and putting crosshairs on the Times when the CTE scandal is exploding shows the real agenda of the commenter.
2
You're really going to equate a bad knee or a bad back with debilitating brain damage?
There is almost never a direct "cause-effect" relationship found in medicine. There are lifelong smokers who never get cancer, but that doesn't mean smoking is a smart thing to do. Similarly, neither does putting yourself in a position where your head is going to get bashed 20 or 30 times a day, four months a year, from age 8 to 30. That's all this guy is saying.
Football players are free to ignore him, but they should at least know about it and consider the risks. And the NFL should not have been blowing it off they way you apparently still are.
There really isn't a debate about this anymore. That's why the NFL instituted the concussion protocol, and why football down to the Pop Warner level is implementing tackle safety programs, albeit slowly. It's weird that you harbor doubts about it.
There is almost never a direct "cause-effect" relationship found in medicine. There are lifelong smokers who never get cancer, but that doesn't mean smoking is a smart thing to do. Similarly, neither does putting yourself in a position where your head is going to get bashed 20 or 30 times a day, four months a year, from age 8 to 30. That's all this guy is saying.
Football players are free to ignore him, but they should at least know about it and consider the risks. And the NFL should not have been blowing it off they way you apparently still are.
There really isn't a debate about this anymore. That's why the NFL instituted the concussion protocol, and why football down to the Pop Warner level is implementing tackle safety programs, albeit slowly. It's weird that you harbor doubts about it.
2
Who needs football when it can sentence an athlete to a life of misery. There is a beautiful game this planet relishes called soccer. That is where artistry, craftsmanship , intuition , precision and athleticism reigns. Everything that made our species supreme. Watch 5'7" Messi and slightly taller Neymar display their craft every weekend.
9
There are also plenty of concussions and horrible ankle injuries. If you want safe, try baseball, basketball and track.
3
Actually, while not as awful as football, soccer has its issues.
1
Thanks for this. Back in the 80's I refused to let my gifted, athletic son play football. He stayed with soccer and lacrosse through high school and finished his field sport career with ultimate frisby. He and his wife now teach Bikram yoga and own their own studio. Not long ago he told me how grateful he is now that I was his stupid old forbidding Mom back then when his whole life stretched before him. Just say no!
23
Don't like it? Don't play.
3
Thanks for your lucid and highly persuasive rhetoric.
13
Be careful what you wish for (or, in this case, are snarky about). With more parents sensibly not allowing their children to play, school districts/local gov'ts not willing to risk the costs of settlements to damaged players, and players walking away, many will take your advice.
I like football, but only the most Neanderthal cannot see that the sport must change somehow, or be irrelevant in 20-25 years
I like football, but only the most Neanderthal cannot see that the sport must change somehow, or be irrelevant in 20-25 years
1
Easy to say. When you are young and poor or needy for ego-boosting attention or male bonding you are going to be tempted to play if recruited. Everything in our culture promotes this.
1
I stopped watching football after the Jets won the superbowl. I cringe and change the channel when sports news shows football "highlights". As long as violence is considered entertainment we can stop whining about gun control, perpetual war and the like. Violence is America and America is violence.
5
Football isn't the only dangerous sport. My 62-year-old brother was an all-state high school and college wrestler. He's barely held a job for 25 years, and he is increasingly unable to speak coherently. The vast majority of people with CTE probably didn't play pro football and will forever remain undiagnosed.
3
The vast majority? 90 out of 94 football players who have been tested have been found to have it. I'm sure there are some in other sports, but hardly the vast majority.
5
Were we to revert back to the original version of football (no forward passing), played with padded leather protection of the day, concussions and joint injuries would be very rare. These injuries occur due to high closing speed and impact collisions that are reflective of the modern positioning, scheming and playing style. The game as played under the original rules, without forward passing, brings the players closer to the ball. Softening the modern helmet (hard shell with steel face mask) eliminates its use as a weapon. The NFL is solely to blame for the corruption of the game, and the injury issues by their putting profits and flare ahead of the competitive purity and grittiness that was the basis of the original game. Don't keep corrupting it more, just bring back the original game.
6
I don't think the record supports you. The forward pass was made legal by the precursor body to the NCAA in1906. This was one of a package of rule changes enacted to save football from itself: during the 1905 season, a number of players had been killed and hundreds injured, leading to calls to abolish the game. Ironic, perhaps, but those are the origins of the forward pass: an attempt to make football safer.
8
Before proceeding, compare the CTE rate for professional rugby players...
4
Football 9is the DUMBEST and most BORING sport there is. In fact all sports are boring to me, ESPECIALLY TEAM Sports.
Nations in history that are in the throes of collapse they tend to focus on ever more violent 'Gladiator Sports' as they implode.
The very idea that some "Entrepreneur" can get the City to GIVE HIM MONEY, and use the power of Eminent Domain to SEIZE people's LAND and homes to build this "Colosseum" is pure FASCISM plain and simple. What si the mater with people??
Texas Stadium was over 40 years old when it was razed. I live in that awful area. But I have NEVER set foot in it once. Not even one time did I set foot on the property. And I was glad to see it go. BB
Nations in history that are in the throes of collapse they tend to focus on ever more violent 'Gladiator Sports' as they implode.
The very idea that some "Entrepreneur" can get the City to GIVE HIM MONEY, and use the power of Eminent Domain to SEIZE people's LAND and homes to build this "Colosseum" is pure FASCISM plain and simple. What si the mater with people??
Texas Stadium was over 40 years old when it was razed. I live in that awful area. But I have NEVER set foot in it once. Not even one time did I set foot on the property. And I was glad to see it go. BB
7
The subject of football and player health would make a perfect subject for a special collection of New York Times articles as well as a Times Insider event.
Great piece, gutsy call, Bob Carmichael. Hope the piece of him still functioning well, his mind, stays that way. The pain of reading about Willie Wood today was agonizing. The satisfaction of reading about Calvin Johnson's pending retirement was uplifting. The losses we have read about in the past couple of years are deeply saddening and dulling. And there are all those still running patterns, taking and giving hits, sucking down painkillers, administered painful needles who will not back down. I get it. It's a living, long or short, that might not have been made. Horrible choice. Watch the Super Bowl? No way. Not this time. Archie Manning; tell your boys to stop before it's too late if it's not already.
10
I think that the real appeal of football has to do with the internalization of the game and its players as a paradigm of masculinity, as this writer implies. The involvement of gender identity with the “savagery” that he admits is part of the game’s appeal is a depressing and awful exemplar of conventional male gender roles in this culture. But if you want to write insightfully about the continued popularity of football despite the fact that it is a gladiatorial spectacle which maims and kills the less privileged members of our society for entertainment purposes, you need to focus on issues of gender identity and psychology, and stop pretending that you can’t experience similar athletic excellence anywhere else.