Collegiate athletics is growing each day and the athletes are becoming faster, stronger, and quicker each day. As the competition on the field improves, the risk of injury also becomes more of a possibility. While strength and conditioning coaches have created athletes who are able to withstand more physical play and can rehab quicker from injury, they have also created monsters on the playing field and court. As collegiate athletics grows into a multibillion dollar industry, the players expect to have more benefits available to them, including workers’ compensation. We have seen a variety of situations arise recently were players are looking to secure their own safety when playing such physical games.
In 1976, a football student-athlete at Indiana State University suffered an injury that left him as a quadriplegic. In 1983, the case Rensing v. Indiana State University Board of Trustees was heard by the Indiana State Supreme Court. The court decided that “the Indiana court of appeals incorrectly concluded that Rensing was an employee under the Workmen’s Compensation Act” and therefore Indiana State University was not responsible to provide Rensing with any medical or disability expenses. It is a requirement of the NCAA for every athlete to carry health insurance and to provide health insurance to those athletes who are not able to provide their own health insurance. It is also highly recommended that NCAA institutions carry additional health care insurance for their
Disease such as ALS and CTE can devastate an athlete’s career and their life. Although these disease affect the body differently, they are both degenerative diseases that destroy whichever body part they affect with time. Although leagues recognize the harm of concussions, they fail to take liability of the side effects after. Despite making millions off of players and their athleticism, leagues also fail to own up to lawsuits regarding that their sport is dangerous and can lead to greater susceptibility to diseases. Many athletes play sports because it is their passion, however it is not justified that their leagues fail to take care of them after they suffer the consequences of concussions and head trauma.
Football, one of America’s favorite pastimes from peewee to professional, watching or running the field this sport is notorious. Yet, the multiple injuries players sustain are often glanced over because ‘the show must go on’. Up until 2015, the National Football League (NFL) did not offer any guaranteed assistance to hurt players. However, in the case of Michael Solomon vs. the NFL, Solomon is asking for more than the NFL bargained.
The Facts about the case of Schweichler v. Poway (2005), a student athlete participates in a sporting event which was wrestling when the assistance coach injured the student. The cause of the injury happened when the coach tried to show the student a move and once the move was done the student athlete ankle was injured. However, when participating in any athletic sports there are plenty of risk that may be taken with being an athlete. There were a negligence lawsuit filed and was dismissed.
The case study selected for week three centers on a liability and assumption of risk case study. In this case study, Brent Thomas and George Banks are facing liability charges after Ricky Watts sustained a serious injury during hockey practice (Essex, 2016). In this situation, Thomas is the school principal, and Banks is the hockey coach as well as the gym teacher (Essex, 2016). Ricky obtained injuries after improperly blocking the puck (Essex, 2016). This case study was selected because it highlights a situation that will likely be faced by all future school leaders. Sports are popular among students, and there is inherent risk in each sporting event. A school is open to liability if they do not ensure that proper protocols are met.
The topic I will be discussing in this draft is the debate on whether the National Football League should be held liable for injuries that their employee’s sustained while playing professional football. The injuries that I will discuss are concussion and traumatic brain injuries related to multiple concussions. In years past this injury wasn’t know n to be as prevalent because that game was played at a much slower speed. Players in todays’ game are bigger, faster and stronger than ever. It has been documented that the players themselves willingly know the risk they are taking yet still take the chance at playing the game. Players and player group representatives are now seeking compensation for their player and player’s families.
Player safety has been an issue for the National Football League since the start of the league, but has taken on a greater importance in recent years. Now, when a player is injured after a play, he must sit out for at least one play to allow the team’s trainer to assess his injury and make sure he is fit to return to play. Many say the NFL is very invested in player safety, and the protocols recently introduced have drastically changed the way athletes are assessed and eventually released to return to the field. These changes were necessary in order to protect players from serious injury and long-term health issues. There are many possible reasons the NFL has increased its emphasis on player safety, including, many people are disturbed by the violence of the game, fewer kids are playing football at the youth and high school levels, league sponsors are worried about bad publicity, and there are lawsuits against the NFL dealing with the long-term effects of brain damage. These reasons make many ponder, “Does the NFL really care about player safety, or are they just saving themselves from bad public relations, and the detrimental economic effects that may result from them?”
The lack of knowledge that the majority of athletes enter the league with causes experts on the NFL’s policies to believe that the front office does not see the injury as a serious problem in the game today. “With the subsequent deaths of several relatively young retired NFL players, the autopsies of their brains, and the newly minted diagnosis chronic traumatic encephalopathy, we know the problem is real” (Carroll). This quotation intensifies the emphasis on the true problem the National Football League seems to be avoiding. Every injury, no matter how small or seemingly unimportant, needs to be addressed. “Even the only game that matters doesn't matter as much as your brain” (Flynn). There is nothing wrong with a person participating in the sport he loves, but when a blow to the head occurs, quick and efficient action must be taken to address the situation at hand. The National Football League and its policies do not suffice in relation to this area of concern. The fact of the matter is that no game, activity, or sport is worth a person’s
The bodily harm that can be caused from playing at the collegiate can disastrous to players bodies for years to come. Each year there are thousands of injuries associated with playing college sports. While some maybe miner, others can cause irreversible damage that may leave players paralyzed or badly injured. Colleges and universities usually don’t continue to pay for medical coverage for those who are injured badly and need long term care. So, young players are left to fend for themselves with no way to pay for medical bills. They are putting their bodies and futures on the line to participate in sports that could result in permanent damage to their bodies. With such a high risk of calamity college students should be compensated to insure they have money they could use when they are unable to play college sports.
In the article 'I Trusted 'Em': When NCAA Schools Abandon Their Injured Athletes college athletes are not getting proper health care from universities. The NCAA is a huge business and college student athletes get a handbook that tells them the rules/policies they must abide by. Meghan Walsh speaks about how little healthcare is mentioned in the NCAA rulebook “The National Collegiate Athletics Association Division I manual includes more than 400 pages of mandates for its member schools. But there is less than a page regarding healthcare for athletes”(Walsh 2). This is not good on the NCAA’s part because it kind of shows that the healthcare/wellness of their athletes doesn’t matter. It is crucial that changes to this manual come to look after
Organized sports have been a quintessential part of American society for generations. Many young boys and girls grow up watching and rooting for their family’s favorite sports team, which typically turns into their favorite. These professional sports players become role-models for these young girls and boys, guiding them into asking their parents if they can join a sports team. Football, for instance, has numerous young athletes playing the often aggressive, sport. Through this influence these children strive to become like the athletes they see on television. The big trending topic that is surrounding football today is concussions and other head injuries. Retired professional National Football League (NFL) players are currently suing the
The ambiguities and the variations in state concussion laws demonstrate a need for a more comprehensive and uniform system to protect student athletes. State laws are often ambiguous as to their scope in whether they apply to only those under the age or eighteen, or in their application to private schools and recreational youth activities. Although most states require an educational component, states vary drastically in who is required to have educational training, who is responsible to for developing it, and who is responsible for ensuring compliance with state requirements. Moreover, the decision on who is responsible for ensuring possible concuss athletes are removed varies by state, with many failing to even identify a person or persona.
Intercollegiate athletics have been a part of the college experience dating back to 1852, when Harvard and Yale competed against each other in their first annual regatta race. Initially, the entry of collegiate sports onto America’s college campuses was the result of professors’ realization that a complete college experience required more than accomplishments in letters (Lewis, 1970). Furthermore, Shulman & Bowen (2011) assert
"The student athletes will endure life long effects of playing physically demanding sports. “Injuries can saddle them with years of medical bills.” (Majerol). Athletes are there to make the college sports better, schools see them as only someone to help make them profit by making the sports program better. As soon as they leave the sports program they no longer care about the physical trauma, and mental trauma the athlete has to deal with the rest of their life. “less than 2 percent of college athletes ever compete professionally.” (Zissou). This mean 2 percent of the athletes will proffesional medical care, while the other 98 percent have to pay out of pocket for the rest of their lives on their used up knees and backs relying on medication to help numb some of the pain so they can get by. Football is one of the most taxing on the body, a study released July of 2017 says “A Journal of the American Medical Association report says
There are many dilemmas that plague sports. Some of those can range from bribing, cheating, racism, and sports safety. In the past the NBA had to deal with the betting scandal involving Tim Donaghy and baseball has had to deal with the issue of performance enhancers. The sports industry generates around half a trillion dollars a year and it has to deal with multiple dilemmas at the youth, college, and professional level. A growing issue with sports has been the number of injuries that athletes have had to deal with. Typical sports injuries range from twisting ankles, blowing out knees, and dislocating shoulders. Surgery and rehabilitation have helped athletes to recover and get them back on the playing field faster
Injuries in American football, can some of them be prevented? With the increase in injuries in football coaches are looking for better ways to try and prevent unnecessary injuries. Even though you cannot prevent all the injuries as a coach you want to at least prevent some.