lukethedrifter wrote:You guys are talking a lot about rules interpretation. There is mounting evidence that repeated blows- whether NFL legal or not- to the head causes irreversible brain damage. Does that matter?
For the record, my dad played in the NFL for 7 seasons then spent 30 years working in HR/Personnel and does not have any obvious physical or mental debilities as a result. Also, I played football and loved hitting and getting hit.
What position(s) did your dad play?
I don't buy it. I just did a search on your last name, nothing:
lukethedrifter wrote:You guys are talking a lot about rules interpretation. There is mounting evidence that repeated blows- whether NFL legal or not- to the head causes irreversible brain damage. Does that matter?
For the record, my dad played in the NFL for 7 seasons then spent 30 years working in HR/Personnel and does not have any obvious physical or mental debilities as a result. Also, I played football and loved hitting and getting hit.
What position(s) did your dad play?
I don't buy it. I just did a search on your last name, nothing:
I only mentioned his NFL experience as a full disclosure sort of thing. That I don't have some sort of anti-football peacenik background. In fact, I'm pretty sure that I personally played better when I'd gotten hit in the head. Still ...
This stuff is analogous to changes in my line of work that have significantly reduced some of the hazards of the job, which are many. There is and has been much resistance here as well.
lukethedrifter wrote:This stuff is analogous to changes in my line of work that have significantly reduced some of the hazards of the job, which are many. There is and has been much resistance here as well.
lukethedrifter wrote:This stuff is analogous to changes in my line of work that have significantly reduced some of the hazards of the job, which are many. There is and has been much resistance here as well.
lukethedrifter wrote:You guys are talking a lot about rules interpretation. There is mounting evidence that repeated blows- whether NFL legal or not- to the head causes irreversible brain damage. Does that matter?
For the record, my dad played in the NFL for 7 seasons then spent 30 years working in HR/Personnel and does not have any obvious physical or mental debilities as a result. Also, I played football and loved hitting and getting hit.
What position(s) did your dad play?
I don't buy it. I just did a search on your last name, nothing:
The issue with head trauma and brain damage in the NFL is no joke. I honestly think it threatens the viability of the NFL in the long-term. Parents will steer their kids away from football if the mounting evidence shows just how dangerous the game has become, even for youngsters. Pop Warner football will decline, high school football will decline, and then college programs will decline.
Honestly, I think the issue in the NFL is the padding. I think they should do away with most of it, crazy as it sounds. Having played college rugby, you are much less inclined to use your body as a battering ram and your head as a missile when you aren't clad in armor. It completely changes the way you tackle. Granted, rugby has a different set of rules that emphasize ball control and staying involved in the play over wiping people out, but I think the absence of pads in rugby greatly reduces the element of violence in the game.
Players have gotten significantly bigger, faster and stronger across the board in the last 20-30 years. The collisions are more violent. If guys that played awhile ago are having all kinds of health problems, guys playing today are in trouble. Anything to raise awareness and possibly clean the game up a little bit is a good thing. Even the guy that is making the tackle could easily break their neck. I don't understand how people can be against the league having the ability to suspend a player that goes out of his way to try to intentionally injure another.
