Kicks into the crowd; potential injury and lawsuit?

[jmt57]

I came across this article and can't help but feel the writer is overstating the problem, or potential problem. I'm curious to hear what those who have been attending training camp feel.

Kicking game not just kids play by Mark Farinella of the Attleboro Sun Chronicle

If it were only kids involved in the end-zone scrum, that would be fine. That's a perfect way for a youngster to feel involved in the action, and when it's 20 or so youngsters who are all about the same size, the chances of one being hurt in the chase after the pigskin are minimal.

But all too often, adults involve themselves in the festivities - and they have no business being there. Too many of them are of the too-beefy variety, too, and their dexterity and coordination have to come into question.

I can't count the number of times I've seen 6-footers, often with shaved heads, weighing 250 pounds or more and wearing sweat-soaked replica jerseys, shoving kids out of the way or practically trampling them to experience the cheap thrill of getting their hands on a Gostkowski-kicked football.

One of these days, a youngster is going to get hurt - first by the joker who bowls him over to get the ball, and second by the rush of personal-injury lawyers looking to represent him in court.

 

[patchick]

The big dudes pushing little kids out of the way is an even bigger problem at the autograph line.

 

[jmt57]

On a side note, he did follow up with another related article today: Gostkowski has settled in nicely by Mark Farinella of the Attleboro Sun Chronicle

"What I did in the past couple of years, whether it was good or not, has no bearing on what I'm going to do this year," he said, "so I've got to prove again that I can be a consistent field goal kicker and kickoff guy."

"Whatever happened in the past couple of years, you erase and move on," he said. "Now's a different year. I'm still working to get better. There's always room for improvement, so you don't act any differently. I come out here and I feel like I'm still a rookie and I have to work hard and be precise."



There will be challenges for Gostkowski in this camp, however.

With the departure of Lonie Paxton to Denver through free agency, the Patriots are in the process of finding another long-snapper. Veteran Nathan Hodel, late of the Arizona Cardinals, and rookie Jake Ingram of Hawaii are the primary competitors for the job, and newly acquired outside linebacker Rob Ninkovich has snapped in the past.

 

[jmt57]

The big dudes pushing little kids out of the way is an even bigger problem at the autograph line.

I hadn't thought about that ... but I was thinking it couldn't be any worse than baseball fans going for ball in the stands. A couple years ago when Bonds and McGwire were setting records I seem to recall some of those battles for a baseball getting out of hand - though they were pretty much all adults and no kids, looking for a souvenir they could sell for big bucks.

 

[Wildo7]

My News 8 Cast

 

[Sivy]

Isnt there an assumption of risk at a football event? Meaning lawsuits would be difficult.