If someone told you that you could win the lottery, but in return you would likely die young and have lots of physical and mental health issues before your death; would you accept the money? Well, that is almost exactly the question that star college football players are confronted with when they decide whether or not to play in the National Football League. Of course, nearly all say yes, because that is what they have been dreaming about ever since they were a youngster.
Even though I love to watch and follow the sport of professional football, there is probably no other organization in existence that takes superbly conditioned young men and, over time, grinds them up and spits them out as slightly older, usually wealthier men, with a multitude of health issues.
The brain concussion problem is currently the most attention-getting issue in the league. This season there has been a rash of concussions suffered by some very high profile players, such as quarterbacks Kurt Warner and Ben Roethlisberger, as well as running back Brian Westbrook. Over the years, too many concussions have forced some great players out of the game well before they and their fans, wanted them to quit. In this part of the country, nearly everyone remembers the early retirement of the 49ers” Steve Young. In Texas, they bemoaned the early retirement of Troy Aikman.
Both of them appear to be the luckier ones. They both function at a very high level as game analysts for major networks. There are definitely some who have not been fortunate. Hall of Fame center Mike Webster, who played for the Steelers, died at the age of 50, homeless and incoherent. Some insiders have said that he was beginning to suffer from dementia even as a player. Hall of Fame tight end from the Colts, John Mackey, was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia. When an autopsy was performed on Eagles” bro-bowl player Andre Waters, who died of suicide at the age of 44, brain tissue was found that appeared to be from an 80-year-old with Alzheimer”s.
Over the years, the NFL acted not too dissimilar from the tobacco or liquor industries that tended to keep the fact that their products could kill people as quiet as possible. The league did its best to hype the great things about its sport, such as the community service projects the players were involved in. They never revealed the ugly side of the game that produced former players, like now deceased Hall of Famer, Johnny Unitas, who had to learn how to comb his hair with his left hand; because he could no longer use his right hand to do anything that required fine motor skills.
One of the long-standing problems has been that owners and coaches have had every reason to play star players while hurt. Owners wanted the dollars and coaches wanted to keep their job. Team doctors, paid by the owners, were often pressured to release players to play before the player was actually ready, for the sake of the team, of course.
This month, the NFL announced that it would “impose its most stringent rules to date on managing concussions.” The new policy requires “any player who exhibits any significant sign of concussion to be removed from a game or practice and be barred from returning the same day.” In addition, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell”s new rules state that players cannot return to active status until they have been checked and given a release by an independent concussion expert. This is a positive step for the NFL. It will help protect players from additional injury while their brain is healing.
Football has always been a violent sport. As players have gotten bigger, faster and stronger, the violence has greatly intensified. No one forces young men to play football. They choose to play. But, I”m for whatever will allow players to live a normal life after their playing days are over.
Gary Dickson is the publisher and editor of the Record-Bee. Contact him at gdickson@record-bee.com or 263-5636, ext. 24.
