With a new NFL season upon us, it is becoming harder for fans to balance their thirst for the brutality of the game with an empathetic concern for players’ safety.
Degenerative brain diseases relating to head trauma in football players is becoming more public. Discussion about the high-impact game having high-impact repercussions has made its way on television and sports talk radio.
Junior Seau, a former San Diego Charger and New England Patriot player, was found dead in his home with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest in May 2012. He was 43.
An autopsy report found no alcohol or drugs in his system. Public opinion pointed to mental illness from past concussions as the blame.
A study conducted in 2007 by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health looked at a group of 3,400 former NFL players who played at least five seasons between 1959 and 1988. Of that group, 334 had died before 2007. The study revealed that ex-players who died of degenerative brain disease died at three times the rate of average American men.
The players are bigger and faster, which only inflates the chances of injury. Accepting this, it’s reasonable to expect the numbers in that study will jump among the current generation of NFL players.
In light of tragedies like Seau’s suicide, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell made the issue of concussions the league’s highest priority. Despite this, new rules and shaky safety enforcement have been inconsistent.
In the face of booming sponsorship dollars and a rabid fan base, the NFL is more lax in favor of having marquee players on the field every Sunday than minding the long-term effects of such a physical sport. At times it appears that what they say is more of an attempt to improve public relations rather than a sincere concern for players.
Almost half the nation, 167 million Americans, watched last February’s Super Bowl. The sport is only growing, but fans can’t ignore the reality of the game. The league and the fans need to care about player safety instead of ignoring the real dangers they face entertaining us.
Mike Hopey is a graduate student pursuing a master’s degree in journalism and media studies. He can be reached at hopey@mail.usf.edu.
