Sports Injuries: Should We Watch?
March 4, 2010 by Kathy McManus
Of the list of things to feel guilty about, should watching pro football now be included?
Football players, often viewed as superb athletic specimens, are increasingly being viewed as medical specimens, because of significant long-term health effects from repeat head injuries.
The New York Times reports that multiple game-inflicted concussions have been linked to problems with concentration, memory loss, and depression, as well as rates of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease that far exceed those of non-players.
“So how can we go on watching?” asked Hugo Lindgren, in a New York magazine piece titled “Sunday Guilt.”
“Unlike baseball or basketball, injuries aren’t incidental to football — they’re a natural outcome of a game in which giant men collide with all their might,” Lindgren wrote. “But it also represents a paradox. The reason we love the sport, after all, is its speed and violence.”
The “ever-present threat of severe bodily harm is part of why we’re sitting there watching in the first place,” says Lindgren, touching on fan complicity with the “real people crippling themselves for our entertainment.”
Tell us what you think: Do spectators share any responsibility for injuries like concussions? Would you still watch if the sport were less violent?
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18 Comments
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March 9, 2010 by Richard Plettau
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March 12, 2010 by John Smith
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March 10, 2010 by David Chase Turner
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February 14, 2011 by Dell
Football is the dream sport of every young man; and especially making it to the NFL. The sport is getting brutal. If you are playing and are now experiencing problems at a young age, health and life is most important. If one doctor finds nothing wrong, seek another. I know for a fact, doctors tend to mis diagnose cases. One did my child, and now he is not here. If you are already in the NFL, rally for medical insurance so that your love ones will not be stuck with a large bill!
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March 21, 2010 by jackson
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March 21, 2010 by jackson
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April 5, 2010 by kaitlyn peters
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April 10, 2010 by rod lewis
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May 10, 2010 by Jeff
well, we should remember back in ancient Rome when gladiators would fight to the death. that was pretty long term injury there.
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September 7, 2010 by Charlie Simpson
What is a safe age to start playing tackle football?
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November 12, 2010 by Nicki
Just because tackle football is dangerous does not mean we shouldn't do it. Those who think we should give up doing sports just because there is a chance of someone getting hurt are just wimps. My brother is nine and has played tackle football for two years. Honestly, he's gotten more hurt riding his scooter than he has playing football. Although he has come home hurt, the extent of his injury is a scraped knee. However while scotering, he almost broke his arm when he fell trying to go down a hill. This is not much different than what happens in Professional football. Athletes have hurt their muscles, no different htan what hapens in basketball. Athletes have hurt their back, no different han what appens in soccer. So i guess what you people are saying is that we should just all sit around the house all day, avoiding anything that is een remotely dangerous.
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September 9, 2010 by TG
The real question is would we continue to play football if it stopped being so violent?
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September 12, 2010 by stve
Boxing may hold the key to why some athletes are ko'd more easily than others. The "Glass Jaw" is a diagnosable condition now found in research to be a link to concussion susceptibility in athletes in all sports. www.mahercor.com has much more on how to protect against this common type of concussion.
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October 15, 2010 by dream-asians.com
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October 20, 2010 by almana ahmad
the violent,bull like hits should stop immediately and players should have severe penalties on it if they do it,or if these are those intense,insane moments where nothing but "win" paralyzes their judgements.at any cost they need to win..the concern is these are lives we are talking about..death would be easier than lying like a vegetable praying for ur own death..our kids in high school football want to play exactly like NFL players as they are their models for the game..should'nt we be putting it on priority list that these models play like humans not angry bulls.head on collisions should stop NOW. make new rules of the game,do whatever is sane before we parents start mourning over what can be irreversible and could have been prevented. thanks for the oppurtunity to share our views.
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October 24, 2010 by Eugene
Finally somebody brought up the fact that kids that play football are socialized to play violently. Actually, it is sad to see 9 year olds padded up and screamed at by coaches to "make the hit" and "bring him down!" Something is wrong with parent's that encourage this in their children. Is this being a man? And the girls that cheer them on at the sidelines.... saying "Be aggressive.... be aggressive. A.G.G.R.E.S.S.I.V.E. Be agressive!" Come one... we are socializing the future women to praise aggression. Why not.... "Be smart, don't hit heads!" "Use your head.... don't bang heads!" or finally "Be a man.... don't play football!"
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December 8, 2010 by James Phail
Eugene there is acting like a real girl. i think that you don't want children to play football because Eugene as a child was not able to play football so why should other people. it shocks me that you think that football is going to cause aggression to children not the blood thirsty video games they play every day.
February 24, 2011 by Alex
lol i played football last year as a high school senior and nothing was better than laying a kid out on the other team, the harder the hit the better ;). If you or your kids cant handle the sport than you dont belong to be involved in it. Aggressive competition is what everyone wants to see.
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