The NFL’s Double-Edged Sword
The NFL is the most popular sport in America. Sundays in the
fall are dominated by people watching their team and/or any team that is on
television. People need football. There was no fallout from the fans after last
season’s lockout. Some people may have given up their season tickets, but there
were more than enough people willing to grab them. Why is the sport so popular?
I don’t think there is one definitive answer, but I would say the physicalness
of the sport plays a part. That’s why it’ll be interesting to see if Commissioner
Roger Goodell’s crusade on safety might impact the league going forward.
Goodell has taken several measures in trying to make the
game safer. First, he has handed down fines and suspensions for vicious hits.
James Harrison of the Steelers is the most notable offender as he is the only
player to be suspended for a tackle under Goodell. Many others have been fined
for their hits. Second, he has sanctioned all those in Bountygate to the
fullest extent of the law. Sean Peyton, Gregg Williams, and Jonathan Vilma are
out for the year (Vilma will appeal his penalty), while five others will miss
some time in 2012 for their involvement with bounties. Third, Goodell is looking
into the long-term health effects of playing football, such as concussions.
Former Bears safety Dave Duerson committed suicide last year by shooting
himself in the chest. He didn’t shoot himself in the head because he wanted
doctors to study his brain. Scientists
determined that Duerson's brain tissue showed evidence of chronic traumatic
encephalopathy (CTE), a dementia-like brain disease afflicting athletes exposed
to repeated brain trauma. It is pretty early, but people are wondering if
Junior Seau, the former Chargers linebacker who killed himself on Wednesday,
was suffering from the same thing.
Player safety in the NFL was something that needed to be
addressed. Players are now bigger, heavier, faster, and stronger. It’s a simple
issue of physics, factoring the speed and mass of these players. Also, players’
tackling skills have been getting worse for some time. Either players have
gotten sloppy or lazy about practicing the basic fundamentals of tackling. It’s
somewhat remarkable that no one was paralyzed or killed with a ferocious hit.
However, I believe Roger Goodell has overstepped his bounds in making the game
safer.
Goodell seems to have no issue setting the bar for
reprimands towards player safety. Three players were fined a total of $175,000
in October 2010 after one week where we saw three players carted off. It became
newsworthy since the fines were unprecedented for on-field action. Never had a
personal foul been fined that much. Also, Goodell is hovering around a
litigious situation for suspending Vilma for a full season. The coaches and
general manger of the Saints received their punishment after it was discovered
they lied to the commish about their knowledge of the bounty system during the
NFL’s investigation. Early reports indicated the players were never part of the
investigation. Yet, Vilma, a player who only has so many years of playing
professionally, must sit out due to the implied thought that he should have
been a whistleblower. I can’t see how Vilma does not sue the league for jeopardizing
his career, a career that already has a very short shelf life to begin with.
Bountygate blew up after Brett Farve took a beating in the
2009 NFC championship game. He took a few cheap shots in the game. Otherwise,
there is no solid evidence the Saints were a dirty football team. They paid out
on hits. They were penalized at the time for any late hits or personal fouls.
Bounties in the NFL are not unheard of. It’s usually kept inside the locker
room. This scandal became public and allowed Goodell to get on his soap box and
swing his dick around.
Let’s admit it, Goodell only cares about safety so he can
save his ass. Former players have started a lawsuit about their deteriorating
health from playing in the NFL. They claim the league knew how harmful concussions
were in the long term and concealed these details from the team, players, and
doctors. Goodell is using his tenure to eradicate the blindness of the league
for the past century.
Do the fans or players care about safety? It appears to be
of little concern to them. Fans want to see big hits. People used to watch
Monday Night Countdown for “Jacked Up”, a segment showing the five best legal
hits from Sunday. Now, people tune in to stare at Stuart Scott’s lazy eye or
hear the incoherent bullshit rambling of Chris Berman. Players have admitted
lying to team doctors when suffering from concussion-like symptoms, so they can
keep playing. It is a shame that many NFL retirees are suffering, but these
players can’t be totally surprised. The human body is not supposed to take that
type of beating. Yet, no one forced these guys to play football. It was a
voluntary decision with very evident risks. Are people really surprised when a
chain smoker for over 15 years suffers from emphysema? So why should we be shocked
when football players suffer from head injuries?
Roger Goodell is a good commissioner. He has helped improve
a game that didn’t need improvement. However, this ginger needs to step off a
bit on player safety. Not ignore it, but he can afford to tone it down a notch
or two. It’s bad enough you could tackle a quarterback in the torso without the
risk of a flag, suspension, or castration. If he wants to be a great
commissioner, he can bring back America’s favorite segment and let fans rejoice
in nerds getting JACKKKKED UPPPPPP!!!!!!
-Written by Marcus Boyd 
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