Ethical Question for You All

[Synovia]

The old time players also got an actual education before playing, so they were more prepared for life post-football. The only former player I know (hint: he once lit up the Boston Patriots as a quarterback for the Houston oilers) went on to become a successful real estate developer.

Plenty of players get good educations now. And the ones who don't, make that decision on their own.

 

[Synovia]

3. The fact that former players aren't covered medically by such a rich League turns my stomach, but a great deal of the blame comes down to the players union. If the idea of a union means anything, surely it should mean looking after those who pay the price.

Former players aren't covered because they've chosen not to be covered.


The NFL players union has been around since 1956, and the players in it have continually voted not to give benefits to former players. Every year the NFLPU members decide that they would rather have their money now, then have the union set it aside for their healthcare.

At any point, the union could have said "Hey, we should start putting some money aside, this is a dangerous sport." But they didn't. They wanted their money now.

 

[PATSNUTme]

Nope! They play because they want to or the lure of $. But most would be playing for beer in the semi-pros if there were no NFL.

I was thinking that years ago cross body blocks were legal, using your forearm and elbow to the head was legal, high-low deliberate tackles were legal, and crack back blocks were legal.

A lot have changes have taken place in the game. If it is HS,college, or pro, or pro, the game is a lot safer today with rules changes and equipment advances. But it is still a collision sport.

 

[#56300ex]

It doesn't bother me in the least. In fact, if it was possible, I would trade in my welding hood for a Patriots helmet in a heartbeat.

The way I see it is they don't care about our long-term well being so why should we care about theirs?

 

[fxkane]

What bothers me most is the glorification and hypocrisy surrounding the issue. While the NFL doles out hefty fines, they sell photos of the very incidents they're fining. And of course the majority want to see these HITS even more than a Manning or Brady touchdown pass. And what about the macho and warrior language of football--to what degree does that spell out even more injuries and beaten brains.

 

[sbpatfan]

That's a pretty stupid thought, considering I have no hand in forcing these players to do anything. No one is telling these guys they have to play football. They all choose to do so, full well knowing the health risks. If they are worried about injuries they can go get a normal job like all of us.

 

[eagle eye]

Its a professional sport and they get paid well to play it. If they are worried about that stuff then leave it and go work in an office or something.

fxkane, I just seen your post with the big writing. I don't know why you did that but my instinctive reaction is to bypass any post with bigger letters, caps or any other stuff like that so I haven't read your post but just said I'd let you know why.

 

[fxkane]

fxkane, I just seen your post with the big writing. I don't know why you did that but my instinctive reaction is to bypass any post with bigger letters, caps or any other stuff like that so I haven't read your post but just said I'd let you know why.

Well, it has nothing to do with emphasis.... but vision. You may have eagle eyes but a lot of us (including myself) do not. And given that many of us are using smaller and smaller screens, the normal print is sometimes a bit too small for comfort. And why are we given all the choices there--i assume to be chosen.

 

[MrBigglesWorth]

the question is if you feel worst for ncaa players who get a scholarship when the college make millions off of them and most of them never see any type of professional money

 

[jays52]

It's a tough, violent game that is going to take a lot from a guy. People that played in college that I know have lingering stuff. I have lingering stuff that bugs me from time to time at only 24. It's not just from the impact; it's from the years of dedicated weight training as well. Most college players (at any level) who play between the hashes can squat 500 for pretty high reps and hangclean 250+ for reps. The kind of training required to get to that level is pretty intense and leaves it's own mark as tendons do not recover as quickly as muscles. I can only imagine the level of training and conditioning required for professional football players.

When you take the impact into account the toll on the body is pretty high. The level of technology in today's padding allows for some incredibly violent impacts with minimal dings and dents. When something goes in football now it is usually pretty significant. Looking past the body issues, the head trauma associated with the rapid deceleration of hits is incredible. Concussions suck and until recently it wasn't uncommon for athletes to lie to the trainers about their symptoms to get back on the field (the cat, rat, hat sequence for example is easily memorized. Even if you don't know who you are talking to you usually can put together "cat, rat, hat...Yeah, I'm good, just got my bell rung"). The brain issues are my main concern for these guys as it's only going to get progressively worse as these guys continue to get stronger and faster. You can condition bone and tissue to build more armor, but you can't train to prevent your brain from bouncing off of your skull.

With that considered, I don't exactly feel bad for these guys as they are highly compensated. I do worry about them after football, and they are clearly going to have long term health issues. Linemen in particular are going to have dramatically shortened lifespans. I think that anyone with any degree of compassion feels for these guys but ultimately I understand that it is a tradeoff. It is a tremendous career opportunity and typically is their passion as well. With the exception of the brain trauma, I think that the lingering injuries are worth the compensation.

 

[BelichickFan]

Slightly off topic but I didn't want to start a thread for this :

YouTube - Hardest Pop Warner Hit EVER

 

[jays52]

Slightly off topic but I didn't want to start a thread for this :

YouTube - Hardest Pop Warner Hit EVER

305 area code man. That's what happens when you get hood ass ******s coaching little kids.

 

[sarge]

Not at all. And here is why.

At the end of the day it is something that is completely absent from the society in Americans these days.

Personal Responsibility.

You live with the decisions you make, and take responsibility for those decisions.

If you want to smoke, accept the fact that there is a real possibility your life will end sooner then it otherwise would. It is your responsibility and yours alone.

If you eat junk food and get fat, guess what? Your fault again. And ONLY YOURS!!!!

If you decide to run around with a football with 200-300 pound juggernauts who sole purpose in life is to destroy you and you get hurt, guess what! You got it!

It may sound cruel, but everyone is fine with risks when they work out for the better. When they don't people seem to think there is some lack of justice or that they are somehow owed a good outcome.

There is a reason they are called risks.

And these football players are fully aware of them.

 

[convertedpatsfan]

I think we can (and should) do more to protect players and ensure they develop properly, even as young kids who are learning the game. Recent studies show concussions can become more likely from many small collisions rather than a few large ones, and so we should consider limiting tackle football for young children. We can and should do a lot more about concussions in general, as well as player safety.

But I don't feel we're in any way contributing to debilitating injuries. There are always risks in playing sports. There are even deaths in non-contact sports like baseball. But whether a player is a professional or just having fun in a beer league with his buddies, there will always be risks of injury. The benefits of sports for people though far offset those risks, and for professional players, they are compensated quite well for those risks.

 

[bucky]

I have thinking of starting this thread for some time and maybe in light of the Merriweather issue it is a little relevant.

The question is:

Do you ever consider that you are contributing in some small way to the fact that some, if not most of these healthy young athletes are going to spend their later years as cripples?

What got me thinking along these lines is a friend of mine that has a neck injury from high school football. There is a restriction in his spinal column from improper tackling technique. At times his arm goes mumb and is effictively useless. This condition is inoperable...no surgeon will go near the area. This is from a few years of high school football. Imagine the damage someone like Rodney Harrison sustains from all those years and all those collisions.

Obviously this has not stopped me from being a fan and watching the games, but I know I am in some tiny way contributuing to this reality for my entertainment.

Well you said yourself that the injury is related to improper tackling technique. BM obviously has the same problem, but a lot of the players know how to tackle and I'm sure they do not end up as cripples.

I myself played 4 years of HS football and 2 years of college football and I don't have any lasting affects at all. As a matter of fact, whatever injuries I do have, are related to basketball - which I only played in pickup games.

And that sort of leads me to the next point - any professional athlete is going to have physical issues later in their life, whether it's football, basketball, even some non-contact sports like tennis.

 

[TriplecHamp]

yes, me watching and spending money is forcing them to play....Football players aren't playing to entertain us they are playing because they are good at it. Football is a dangerous job just like mining, law enforcement and firefighting the difference is football comes on TV regularly and they get paid a whole lot more.

 

[TriplecHamp]

305 area code man. That's what happens when you get hood ass ******s coaching little kids.

They guy who uploaded the video got it from another website.

 

[Lansdowne]

What's going to happen's going to happen whether I watch or not. I almost never watch hockey and those players are going to feel the aftereffects of their injuries long after their careers are done. Same deal there.

 

[Kontradiction]

Nope. I don't consider that at all. They knew of the risks of the game going into Pop Warner. They knew of the risks going into high school and in college. In the pros, they're ESPECIALLY aware of the risks, take them, and are compensated handsomely for doing so.

 

[Kontradiction]

Slightly off topic but I didn't want to start a thread for this :

YouTube - Hardest Pop Warner Hit EVER

If I were his coach, that kid would be running laps and gassers until he puked. The first thing that I was taught during my Pop Warner years is to ALWAYS keep my head up to see what I'm hitting. That video states that either (1) those coaches didn't teach that or (2) they did but didn't enforce it.