Aggression Of The Field : Aggression

It is America’s game. Tough, rough, explosive, exciting, and captivating. One can’t deny that this sport can truly be a thrill to watch. Big plays accompanied by big hits. Touchdowns paired with broken bones and concussions. Kids start when they are young aiming for the stars to be the next great NFL player. It is instilled in the culture from young age that football players are the biggest, baddest, and toughest athletes on the planet. They are the modern day warriors out to entertain the masses. Football players don’t get hurt, they play through the pain, at whatever cost and taking whatever medication they can to numb the pain.

Phillips has been a fan of the NFL for many years. Being a fan of the NFL has allowed Phillips to better understand the game and what goes on between the players. Phillips reads the tweets and watches the games, so he is well informed about anything that happens in the NFL, both on and off the field. In his essay, Phillips writes about the bullying scandal that happened to Jonathan Martin. Martin was bullied online by Richie Incognito for leaving the team to deal with emotional issues. Phillips tell us what he thinks about the scandal and what he thinks about football through his years of

On the morning of December first of two thousand and twelve, Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher took a .40 caliber gun and shot his girlfriend 22 times inside his master bedroom. He then drove down to Arrowhead Stadium, the Chief’s home stadium, to express his appreciation to his team’s general manager and coach for everything they had done for him, walked away, and then shot himself in the head. This tragic recollection of the murder-suicide case executed by the 25 year old football player paints him as a monstrous and willfully violent man but what if one was to acclaim all of these fatal incidents to too many bumps in the head? Well it has been. Years after this incident, after medical examiners conducted an autopsy on Belcher and they found that his brain showed signs of CTE, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a disease caused by repetitive traumatic head injuries, also denoted as concussions. There have been many documented cases where after contact sport athletes experience excessive concussions, they then seem to develop a seemingly new character as they come to be ill fully violent, overtly aggressive, or even deeply depressive. Many times this may lead to the diagnosis of a mental disorder or may end tragically, as in Belchers case, in the death of others and/or the athletes themselves.

Most people understand that football is a violent sport, and one must be very tough in order to compete. Injuries NFL athletes suffer can affect, not only the player, but also the fans and family members watching. Over time, many have become increasingly disturbed by the violence that routinely occurs in

Throughout the years, sporting events has been a place for fans to forget about what is going on in their life, take a break from the real world, and focus on the game. Often, many fans don't just watch and keep up with sports solely because of the type of sport, but also to keep up with their favorite athletes and teams. However, the aggressive and violent nature of the sports can often be carried over from the field to real life, impacting not only the athlete and the team, but also the fans.

In February 2011 an NFL defensive player committed suicide and left a final note requesting his brain be donated to Boston University School of medical research where it was found that all his head injuries had caused long-term brain damage. Another NFL star that committed suicide, Junior Seau, was one of the toughest defenders to ever play the game. While playing Junior Seau was never sidelined for head injuries he sustained. According to his ex-wife Seau had multiple concussions throughout his career. (Velasco 2012) This is an example of the culture in the NFL of being “tough”, and not coming off the field no matter how severe the impact is. Research done at the University of Texas had results that showed individuals who have concussions in early adulthood have a higher chance to develop depression when they get older compared to people that haven’t had concussions. (Stong 2013)

It is a violent, dangerous game whose popularity is at an all time high, the National Football League leading the way. These are some of the biggest, fastest, and strongest athletes in the world who are more than willing to risk their bodies for gridiron glory. The NFL is at risk of losing several billions of dollars in law suits from former players for how organizations handled concussions during their career. Jim McMahon, the quarterback on the 1985 Super Bowl Champion Chicago Bears is battling the early onset of dementia, a progressive decline in cognitive function due to conditions that have affected the brain (Dementia). The Chicago Tribune quoted McMahon in saying, “My memory is pretty much gone, I walk in a room and forget why I walked in there. I'm going through some studies right now and I am going to do a brain scan. It's unfortunate what the game does to you.” That quote is enough to make you wonder why people continue to put themselves at risk. The NFL has even amended rules to attempt to make the game safer by fining and suspending players for hits that affect the head. Despite his condition McMahon was quick to defend the same game that has ruined his life that he loved and played for so long. Compared to the current procedures in evaluating head injuries, McMahon said “Back then, all they did was tape an aspirin to your helmet and go back in.” and he is currently listed on a class

Not only can concussions lead to suicide but, they also have many long term effects. Some of these long term effects can be depression, dementia, and alzheimer 's disease. As a matter of fact “one in five [football players] who said they had suffered at least three concussions has been treated for clinical depression”(Vance). Also depression from concussions can sometimes cause players to have suicidal thoughts. As an example Andre Waters, former NFL player committed suicide from depression at 44 years old(Weir 8). As Dr. Redelmeier does another study he takes “1044 retired players from the American National Football League (NFL) which found a nine-fold increase in subsequent depression for those with multiple concussions”(10). This means that professional football players have nine times the chance of suffering depression than someone who does not play football. Correspondingly in an important article by USA Today the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill did a very significant study. The university has “found that ex-National Football League players

NFL injuries can cause domestic violence. In fact "In 2012 Kansas City Chief player named Jovan Belcher shot and killed his girlfriend and then ended up killing himself and doctors believe it is from too many head injuries in the NFL(Gregory)".With head injuries in the NFL it can cause long term effects and after retirement can cause dementia and memory loss. Some players it has got to the point that they end up killing themselves from such bad head injuries or they take the aggression on their families or even kill the ones they love. Many families have gone to the point to sue the NFL after the family member killed themselves or hurt their families. "Family of

Many of the former and present NFL players believe that like boxing, the NFL had to be aware of the health risks associated with repetitive blows producing sub concussive and concussive results. The fact that some members of the NFL player population were at significant risk of developing long term brain damage, had to be known by the league. Players say,

Concussions and their side effects are traumatic to any player of the National Football League, not just at the time of the incident, but symptoms can last a lifetime and can in reality end a career. Results of these concussions not only affect themselves but the people around them including loved ones. “Since 2012 there have been 967 diagnosed concussions, and that includes preseason, regular-season practices plus games and postseason” (CNN 2014). Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), develops after multiple traumatic brain injuries and have led to former players and current to commit suicide. “Junior Seau, 43, a former linebacker shot himself in the chest, former Atlanta safety Ray Easterling, and former Chicago Bears defensive back Dave Duerson commits suicide by gunshot wound to the chest” (CNN 2014). Rather than shoot his head they shot themselves in the chest so that their brain can be used in Concussion and CTE research. Once a player gets a concussion, the likelihood of another increases, so and so forth. However, it is not just a running back or a nose tackle that can get this horrific injury, its anyone, it could be a kicker, a coach on the sideline; anyone that hits the ground too hard, or has head to head contact. Though the National Football League has become aware of this injury over the years and have implemented many protocols, that is not enough. This is a

Players risk their lives every time they step on the football field. There is always a chance of someone getting hurt. Football is a battle. Everyone wants to come out of that battle as a winner so they will do everything in their power to achieve that. Football is the most violent sport. It draws a lot of attention and creates a lot of good memoires. The NFL has cracked down and is still trying to crack down on making the game safe. They have made head to head contact illegal to prevent concussions. There are a lot of post football players who suffer from injures they faced in the NFL every day of their

Football today is not what it used to be 20 years ago. The athletes are bigger, faster, and stronger than anyone believed they could be. The game has changed drastically, but so have the injuries. In 1985 famous Redskins Joe Theismann suffered a comminuted fracture of his right leg, which would eventually be found to be a career ending injury. Back then this type of injury didn’t happen too often, but today is seen more often than it should. Along with more gruesome injuries came higher rates of concussions, a potentially life threatening injury. With the recent studies of concussions impacts on the brain it has been realized there is a link between brain trauma and aggressive or suicidal behavior some football players experience down the road.

Aggression is defined as behaviour directed towards another living being with the intent of harming or injuring them in someway, and can be defined as either

The biological/nature side of the argument should not be ignored, although it is less of a factor than the lifestyle and culture people grow up in. The fight-or-flight response is a biological effect that happens under stress, where adrenaline is pumped up to either protect or escape from harm. This can cause aggressive behavior if the fight response is chosen. Another important facet is genetic/mental disabilities that can cause extreme aggression for no apparent reason, along with genetic predisposition for extra receptors in the body that cause anti-social behavior and moodiness, which can be a precursor