What would the University of Michigan be without football? We are the winningest program of all time, and have never let Ohio State or Michigan State's overall dominance of us in the past few years overshadow the fact. What would you expect the faces of frat bros and sorority girls across Ann Arbor to look like if you were to tell them that our University was dropping the football program so as to not put anybody in danger of getting a concussion. It would probably look something like this
In the first episode of South Park this season, writers mocked the whole situation. It can be watched here. If you don't have the time to watch a whole episode, this one minute youtube clip will give you the gist of the story. When he heard that stan and his friends were now playing football in school without the kickoff, Randy invented a game called sarcastaball. Obviously, he wasn't serious about the game. It consisted of players that wore tin foil hats and played with a balloon. Players were encouraged to be as nice as possible, and give each other hugs and compliments. Parents at South Park elementary loved the game and Randy soon found himself coaching the Denver Broncos. Just what America wants right!? The short clip shows Peyton Manning being very nice, the broncos helping the steelers score a touchdown, and some girls that probably wouldn't be professional cheerleaders of an NFL team.
The point that South Park is making is pretty clear. America wants football--that is why it is still on TV. The players on NFL teams want to play football. Society celebrates this game, despite its negative consequences. Yes, I believe that concussions are very likely to happen in football and that they have a strong correlation to brain degeneration later in life. But this does not mean that it is Roger Goodell's fault that someone suffers from ALS. What I mean to say is, I think that too many people enjoy watching hard hitting games like this for people to ever stop playing. I think that football players have plenty of incentive to play. It gets you street cred with the babes if you are a star quarterback, so I don't think the U.S. will stop playing this game for a very long time.
At the end of the day, does the NFL have dirty hands by committing the moral wrong to let guys go out and knock heads but it is justified by bringing entertainment to bros all around the country? I say no. The players start at a young age, compete viciously to get to the NFL so they can be a superstar, and more power to them if they are able. I think its dumb for people to sue the NFL because they want compensation for their brain injuries. However, please let me know if you think otherwise!
As long as the public demands football, which I don't see ending any time in the foreseeable future, the NFL will exist. Moreover, I have a hard time sympathizing with players who had the privilege of playing a game as a career and making much more than the average person while doing it. Part of me wants to say that they have already received so many blessing that getting more money from the NFL would be unnecessary.
ReplyDeleteAt the same time, just because professional athletes are richer than the American (let alone person!), they still do deserve to be treated humanely. The fact is, the NFL knew that concussion were a serious threat to the long term health of their players and they didn't tell them. Essentially they lied to their players by not disclosing all the risks of playing.
Playing professional football is inherently dangerous, and I assume that all the players know that. Ultimately, they have all agreed to do the job that they are doing (I would do it too if I could). But the knowledge that their lives could be forever changed without them really knowing it could potentially change their decisions and their own personal cost-benefit analysis. While I don't believe the NFL should be responsible for the fact that players get injured, they should be responsible for ensuring that the players are aware of the risks that they accept in order to play professional football.
The NFL does not dirty hands. Nothing they do is considered morally wrong, so it’s impossible for them to even have dirty hands. The players need to be responsible for their health; it’s not the NFL’s job. Maybe after the second or third concussion, the player should realize football isn’t so beneficial for his well-being. At any time he could walk away from the game and retire. It’s his own fault if he wants to keep playing and suffers many more concussions. I’m also under the impression most players know about the risks of football beforehand (or should at least realize them shortly after playing). I don’t know if this happens or not, but it’s like the Army warning each potential recruit of the risk of death. If you want to sign up for the Army, you should know beforehand that you very well may die, and not have to be told.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that the commissioner today, Roger Goodell, does not have dirty hands in this instance and neither does the NFL as a whole. To start with Goodell he became commissioner after the game of football and the existence of NFL was already in place for many years. Just because he did not decide to overhaul the system and change the face of the game does not mean he is endorsing concussions or brain trauma later in life. The fact is that he signed up for the job to govern over the national football league and as hard hits and concussions are part of the game he would be doing a disservice as commissioner to change the nature of football until it becomes a different game altogether.
ReplyDeleteIn the case of the NFL as a whole I do not believe it can be considered to have gotten its hands dirty as an organization. The reason I say this is because the players that are trying to sue the NFL signed up to play the game in the first place! They know that football is a game of tackling and hard contact, and if they did not wish to put themselves at risk to developing concussions or other mental disorders then they should not have signed up to play. If a college player desires to take his skills to the NFL then he better be ready to acknowledge the fact that the physical nature of the game is only going to get more intense. He has to realize that playing the game of football is potentially putting his health at risk. This choice is inherently made by the NFL player whether he realizes or not, and thus he cannot be upset with the organization that allowed him to make a living when he signed up to play in the first place. Overall, I think it is a given that playing in the NFL brings with it potential health hazards as any full contact game does. And by agreeing to play professionally each player is giving up his ability to sue in the case that he does get hurt. For these reasons, neither the NFL as a whole nor Roger Goodell should be seen as getting their hands dirty by allowing football to be played the way it always has been.
Joseph, I agree with your views on this topic especially because the NFL can not be solely blamed for the death of Junior Seau because aside from football who knows to the full extent what his personal life was like and since the death his family has not directly blamed the NFL in any way shape or form. Also, the NFL has been shaky in handling these types of situations because it became pretty obvious to me that the NFL was fine with all the media about the replacement officials simply because it dramatically drew away from all of the issues with head trauma that had previously been floating around. I thought your analogy was humorous about Michigan football being taken off this campus and the drastic effect it would have however this case has been much more aimed at the NFL rather than the NCAA. Also, the NFL does have rules and penalties that protect head to head contact and trauma to the head even though many times they are simply hard to avoid. However, in some areas I do feel like you have to hold the NFL somewhat accountable because while I do not think they have "dirty hands" I also think they could do a little bit more to acknowledge the problem and take ownership over it as well as taking responsibility for their players and their health.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteJoseph,
ReplyDeleteVery funny and interesting post. I do not believe that the NFL has dirty hands. I truly do no think the NFL is withholding information from players so that they continue to play the game that pays their bills and feeds their children. NFL players know what they're getting themselves into when they sign their contracts. NFL players have personal agents, physicians, and financial assistants that warn them of the various risks that come with playing the game of football.
The NFL has done a lot in recent years to prevent concussions including increasing fines for helmet to helmet contracts as well as imposing suspensions for players who repeatedly violate the rule.
Roger Goodell could send out every piece of concussion and brain trauma research that has been done in the last 10 years, and nothing would change. This exact reason is why Roger Goodell is not guilty of dirty hands. Players choose to play this game, and the only way they know how to play the game is at full speed.
I do not believe Goodell is committing a moral wrong by allowing the players to play football, and he should not be blamed for the injuries that players suffer from well after retiring from the league.
Dirty hands differs from greedy paws. Football is here to sa, at least for the foreseeable future. Both collegiate and pro players will continue to lay at the prospect of fame and money, and organizations are willing to continue as well; the prospect of money and a lucrative entertainment business is not an opportunity that will just cease to exist.
ReplyDeleteWhile there is a link between football and neurologically symptoms (present in other athletes such as boxers as well), the correlation is not strong enough to dissuade players from partaking. Because the decision to continue is not based on a necessary, yet morally wrong decision, it's hard to argue that organizations such as the NFL or BCS have dirty hands. From their perspective, they are offering the opportunity to athletes to pay, and that the discretion to worry about the long term neurological effects is solely the players'.
I think the distinction lies in the fact that their actions, while morally ambiguous (could be argued either way), are not necessary acts . If these two conditions were satisfied, then it could be debated that the NFL or any other organization involved with football could have dirty hands.