Hour 6
4/21/2016
NFL Concussion Critics
Just moments before the whistle was blown, the 243 lb linebacker, Clay Matthews, collided the running back. A loud crack was heard among the stadium which drove the fans wild. The running back was knocked unconscious from the force equivalent to a car crash against his skull. There are many glorified moments like this which intensifies the love of football for the fans. As all the spectators cheer, the players’ brains deteriorate from the stress put on them. A rising conflict is the concussion and whether or not the NFL should be held responsible for the players getting these. However, the players know the risk of playing in this popular sport and they take the chance of injuries when they …show more content…
They are fully aware of the danger and physical demand of this popular sport. As a matter of fact, it is common knowledge that football is a very violent and destructive sport. The players are also compensated in money for the danger they are in. The linebacker, who has the highest chance of obtaining a head injury, with 11 concussions in the first 11 weeks of the 2009 NFL season, has an average salary of about 2 million dollars. The position with the second highest chance of a head injury, with 8 in the first 11 weeks of the 2009 NFL season, the running back makes an average of $1.5 million (“NFL Head …show more content…
There is a lot of hostility between teams to begin with which correlates to the field and adds to the animosity of the game. When the game was in it’s early days, it was called a “Boy-killing, man-mutilating, money-making, education- prostituting, gladiatorial sport” by one of the college professors (“NFL Head Injuries”). Besides, the big hits are one of the many reasons why humans love this sport so much. It reaches the primal side of humans that loves violence and feeds off of watching the giant impacts that the athletes encounter. Tim Layden, a Sports Illustrated journalist, wrote, “Players live for it, fans love it, media celebrate it-- and all bemoan its devastating consequences. The Brutal collision of bodies is football’s lifeblood, and the NFL’s biggest concern.” (“NFL Head