Football lovers beware, this post will offend you.
I have never liked football, in fact I have always called it
dumb-ball. Why? Because I could not, and do not, understand
the appeal of watching big dudes, many of them grossly out of shape, run into
each other with their heads. I never saw
this as sport, and recognize that in a three hour game, each player actually
moves for about 6 minutes. How athletic
(I mean pathetic).
Okay, okay, simmer down.
I can see that some of them are sweating under those helmets, and to be
honest I don’t even understand the game.
I should not knock something I have not tried, take no interest in, and
don’t get, but alas I will continue.
I think the recent NFL player award of $765 million for those
with brain injury resulting from football proves my point. According to one article, “under
the settlement, individual awards would be capped at $5 million for men with
Alzheimer's disease; $4 million for those diagnosed after their deaths with a
brain condition called chronic traumatic encephalopathy; and $3 million for
players with dementia”. They indicate
that there are 18,000 players affected (http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000235494/article/nfl-explayers-agree-to-765m-settlement-in-concussions-suit).
Other articles talk about this as a “drop in the bucket” and
an award very unlikely to have any impact on the NFL at all. I know that the economy lives on supply and
demand, and it somewhat saddens me that there remains a “demand” for this type
of sport via spectators that pay big bucks and derive pleasure from watching
this idiocy.
I love this article from Grantland: What Would the End of Football Look Like? (http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7559458/cte-concussion-crisis-economic-look-end-football). In this, they speak of pending football
lawsuits and that the end result is that “more and more modern parents will
keep their kids out of playing football, and there tends to be a
"contagion effect" with such decisions; once some parents have second
thoughts, many others follow suit.”
I can tell you that I work with people with brain injury,
Alzheimer’s Disease, concussions and post-concussion syndrome. These are not easy injuries to live with, or
to treat. Dizziness, visual disturbance,
excessive fatigue, cognitive difficultly, physical and emotional challenges…not
fun. Why as a parent would I sign my
kids up for that, or the likelihood of that, when there are other sports like
tennis, volleyball, swimming, baseball and golf that are more classy, often
more athletic, and clearly more safe?
What is interesting is that a few years back I was at a
conference on Spinal Cord Injury. At my
table, there was a researcher from the US.
He was talking about impact data being collected from sensors inside
football helmets. He said they were
astonished at the high velocity of impacts being measured, and said the numbers
were so severe they “could not even release the data as the outcome would
result in public outcry and a drastic change to the sport”. Well, we wouldn’t want an outcry, would we?
The bottom line is that society’s values are changing. Parents are going to be less and less
interested in exposing their children to sports that are more likely to cause
injury, and to have long-term disabling effects. Sorry dumb-ball, I think your days are
numbered. Golf anyone?
3 comments:
Julie...I should say up front that I played football at Laurier and Ottawa...and I also work in the ABI field.
Not sure where to start...
The question really revolves around 'risk/benefit' of playing sport...and at the crux of this discussion, is that this is moreso a sociological issue, and not just a health issue.
Julie, if we extend your argument, then most all sports should be banned. Certainly, your naivety or ignorance about football -- and perhaps, sport in general -- should not be held against the valid arguments you make. Yet, please tell me you understand the role of sport in society -- then we could have a real conversation, otherwise, your comments may as well come from the choir, and not from an educated Occupational Therapist. Sport needs to be understood as a means or utility, not just as some wild dream that pubescent males try to live up to.
Let's continue this discussion...
Darrin Davidson
Great comment Darren (except for the ignorant part, that was uncalled for) and I too am a decorated athlete, but I won’t bore you with my resume. You raise a good point. The role of sport in society is immense, and this goes back to when the Mayan’s would play basketball and the loser would be beheaded. Glad we are past those years. However, this highlights that sport evolves as societies values change. I am suggesting that society’s values are changing. Some sports are riskier than others, and those sports, in today’s era of “safety first” parenting, are going to decline in popularity. A class action lawsuit is not going to help the sport of football, even if it the award is just a drop in the bucket for the NFL.
I agree that sports has a very valid place in society and it has become a huge part of our lives in North America and across the world (just different sports). However, I think it is absolutely crazy that these players should be given anything for playing a sport that is so risky to their health and they should be obviously aware that these dangers lurk should they wish to play contact sports like football or hockey or boxing. It's the risk you take if you want to play and make millions by doing so. In my opinion they're already paid WAY too much and this has set an outrageous precedent.
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