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Location: Where people kill 30 million pigs per year
Posts: 2,014
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dirty
Your original post didn't say anything about the efforts they have been trying to make recently. for those who don't follow the NFL closely like I do, it made it look like the NFL was still ignoring problems so that's why I had to mention their recent efforts.
Dirty, my original post linked to this article - Concussions and Head Injuries in Football - The New York Times - which describes the newer safety regulations the NFL is implementing and the fact that the NFL has been criticized for years because of not doing anything earlier when medical evidence showed the bad long-term effects of concussions. I also wrote that "I am mocking the NFL League leadership for having refused for so long to make the game safer for players," which implies they are now trying to do so, but did not for years.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dirty
Blaming fans for football injuries is RIDICULOUS. So because I buy a ticket to a game, I now support brain injuries?
When people pay money to see some event, they *are* supporting it and endorsing what happens, so I feel some responsibility rests with the fans whose money allows the events to continue.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dirty
I think the NFL 'ignored' it for a long time because... how do you really fix it? I don't think they had any ideas on what to really do about brain injuries. They still don't really know.
You do some of what you mention: prevent certain hits that are known to be the most dangerous, and never send someone back into the game who has received a head injury. Plus you educate the players about the long-term damage of concussions...which the NFL is finally doing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dirty
Murder instances over games are such isolated instances. 99,99% of fans, at the worst, will get pissed off and chuck their remote across the room after a loss or drop a few F-bombs around the house...and by the end of the day they are cooled down and just disappointed in the loss.
My example of murder occurring due to fan conflict over American football was serving as an extreme example of how this "game" becomes much more than just "fun" to some fans. Are you aware of the degree of rioting and violent behavior due to American football fans, as described in this article?
Riots at US sports events occur far more frequently than they do in the UK. And yet, in American popular culture, the "hooligan" is almost without exception portrayed as a soccer fan (and nearly always as English).
That's the wonder of American sports. There are fistfights, showers of beer (and faeces, canned dog food and coins), portable toilets kicked over with opposition fans inside them, knifings, deafening verbal abuse, full-scale riots, cars set alight, disabled fans stripped and their clothing destroyed, players puking because they've breathed in the pepper spray used by police to dissuade two sets of fans from kicking the sweet bejesus out of each other - and not a single hooligan in sight. Amazing when you think about it.
And now on to Urban's comment. Saving the best for last!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Urban Hatemonger
Of course there's risk, there's risk every time you wake up in the mornings. And I do have a permanent reminder of my rugby days in the form of a blown out knee, never had a concussion, never had any head injury but these things happen, just as you can get them from riding a bike.
How about that? Maybe we ban bikes because they're dangerous & cause head injuries too and just have people driving around in great big padded 4 x 4's instead.
Erica dear you're a nice lady but sometimes you really do talk a load of rubbish.
Dear Richard, you are a very nice gentleman, truly (when you want to be ), but sometimes I feel you don't investigate issues very thoroughly and you are quick to discount much of what I say as rubbish when almost everything I write has some validity to it (if not everything ).
If I am talking rubbish when I blast the NFL for not concerning itself with protecting players from concussions until recent years, then I am doing so along with numerous sports commentators, the U.S. Congress, and parents of children who are permanently injured or dead due to concussions and inappropriate responses to injuries in American football at the high school and college levels. Do you realize how many players of American football have suffered brain injury due to concussions? I am not the only one concerned:
Perhaps more than any other sport, professional football is hardest on the human body. Players retire and live with constant pain for the rest of their lives. Many are unable to walk without help, and in some more serious cases, such as Johnson's, the fallout is much more severe.
However, despite the brutal and violent nature of the sport, the NFL protects its players physically much less than the other major professional sports. The NHL [National Hockey League] has seen a drastic reduction in concussions and head injuries because of harsher penalties for checking from behind, the behavior most likely to result in head injuries.
Because of the NFL’s notoriously weak player's union and the lack of job security, players are conditioned to act in a manner that will have them on the field, no matter the ultimate price, even in regards to their health.
You may have wished to risk yourself and your life, but many people want to learn how to have fun playing a sport they love while reducing the chance of serious injury. Yes, everything we do involves risk...crossing the street has risk, playing the violin has risk (joint pain! Gouged eye!)...but I feel being concerned about how to do activities safely is not rubbish but wisdom.
I'm glad that the NFL is now trying to educate players so they are better protected. Why would you oppose safety measures that can make a big difference in the safety of players?
I'm also glad you didn't get severely injured playing rugby, presumably league . I'm sorry that so many players of American football have not been so lucky, often due to simple lack of attention to important safety measures that should have been taken, such as making sure helmets pass standards that actually protect athletes effectively:
More than 100,000 children are wearing helmets too old to provide adequate protection — and perhaps half a million more are wearing potentially unsafe helmets that require critical examination, according to interviews with experts and industry data.
Helmets both new and used are not — and have never been — formally tested against the forces believed to cause concussions.
Awareness of head injuries in football was heightened last weekend when helmet-first collisions caused the paralysis of a Rutgers University player, a concussion to Philadelphia Eagles receiver DeSean Jackson and injuries to three other N.F.L. players. Although some injuries are unavoidable results of football physics, helmet standards have not kept up with modern football, industry insiders said.
Finally, here's a quote about football and safety from USA Today that I like very much, in particular because of the last line, which summarizes my "rubbish" view on the risks faced when playing American football:
Players down to the pee-wee leagues take their cues from their NFL heroes. If vicious helmet hits are treated lightly and celebrated in NFL highlights, young players get the message that the way to succeed is to ensure that opponents get "jacked up!"
The NFL can push its own players and younger ones in a healthier direction. But it will need to do more than lay out strict policies. It will need to ensure that this is a turning point, in enforcement and in attitudes. Hitting is a part of pro football. Maiming should not be.
Of course, if *I* had control of the NFL, I'd convert it to flag football overnight!
The players could still smack each other's ass, though. I always like that part!
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by Neapolitan:
If a chicken was smart enough to be able to speak English and run in a geometric pattern, then I think it should be smart enough to dial 911 (999) before getting the axe, and scream to the operator, "Something must be done! Something must be done!"
Last edited by VEGANGELICA; 10-20-2010 at 09:03 PM.
10-20-2010, 08:58 PM
), but sometimes I feel you don't investigate issues very thoroughly and you are quick to discount much of what I say as rubbish when almost everything I write has some validity to it (if not everything 
).
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