Violent America – assignment A
“Thirty years from now I don’t think it [the NFL] will be in existence”. It comes to no one’s surprise that the contact sport American football is very violent. We have all seen the massive amount of protective gear the players wear, and in spite of this, an estimated 1,2 million football-related injuries occur every year. Many of these are of course common injuries seen in other, less violent sports, but still 5% of those 1,2 million injuries are concussions, which can affect brain function on a long term basis. However, is this major problem acknowledged in media, is there any chance in change, and what would ultimately end of the NFL?
In January of 2013 Sports Illustrated could report that an NFL player had
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This may seem as an extreme scenario because of all the security measures taken, but, actually, multiple deaths have already occurred to football players. 19 players were killed in 1905 as a result of playing American football. These deaths are the reason safety is so important today, and also why just one death in modern NFL would destroy the game. Because after 1905 the President at the time, Theodore Roosevelt, said “no more”. Those 19 players symbolize why we should care more about football players’ safety. Those 19 players symbolize why it is important to think critically about sport. Those 19 players symbolize that no more. And if we can’t behave and make sure no one dies while playing a sport in good fun, we do not deserve it. As written earlier an NFL player was fined $15.000 for an illegal hit. Someone might argue that fines are a way for the players to be taught a lesson and not to “do that bad thing again”. But I personally think that is a way too little of a punishment. There is probably a reason why that hit is illegal, and by only fining the player they are putting a price on life. Through this fine, they are telling us how much they value the safety of others. And if they truly cared about respecting the rules they would have banned