National Football League: A Case Study

Many memories are made in football, but sadly some of the greatest players cannot recall them. The National Football League has been associated with concussions and brain traumas throughout the years, but lately it has been exposed by media and NFL veterans. The league recently “reached a $765 million preliminary settlement with thousands of former players who were suing the league over its treatment of concussions…” (Waldron). Many former players are experiencing the effects of taking hard hits over and over again; they were not properly treated, which makes the injury worse and long term. The concussion issue in the NFL is more prevalent today, because it affects not only the players, but the league as a whole.

These lawsuits represented over 2,000 former players claiming that the NFL didn 't teach them the dangers of a concussion. On August 29, 2013, over a year after the lawsuits were filed, there was an agreement between the NFL and the players; the NFL agreed to pay $765 million to pay for medical examinations, compensation for the concussed athletes, and research towards concussions. Just as the NFL thought the lawsuits were over, on January 14, 2014, the agreement was declined by a federal judge because the judge believed that $765 million was not enough money (“NFL Concussion”). These lawsuits over the issue of concussions prove that the athletes have experienced a multitude of medical issues that resulted from multiple concussions. These former athletes are working hard to ensure that young athletes do not have to suffer like they do.

Statistics show NFL players are paid $1.9 million a year on average. An injury as severe and time-consuming as a concussion can undoubtedly counteract this kind of pay. Professional athletes do not want to jeopardize sitting out a game and missing their opportunity, “‘[t]he return to play decision is based on symptoms, and the problem is the players all want to get back yesterday and the question is whether they are being truthful and honest’ during their evaluations, Stieg said” (Futterman). There is nothing doctors or trainers can do if the athlete lies about being symptom free. They can suspect the severity of the concussion by just observing the athlete’s behavioral response toward certain things, like light or noise.

Over the past several years, the NFL has faced numerous lawsuits involving former NFL players and their families ranging from negligence, fraud, and wrongful death conspiracy from related head traumas suffered while playing professional football. Several studies have shown that there are long-term and devastating effects on football players who consistently experience concussions during regular season play and practice. There is

A concussion is an injury suffered in the brain of an individual that can affect and alter a person’s ability to perform not only mentally, but physically as well. The New York Daily News reported on one of the finest cases of how serious the NFL is taking the issue on concussions, the current lawsuit that reached a “$765 million settlement reached between the two sides, 18,000 concussion suffer and the NFL” which states causes for important untold information the NFL refused to report to players about the prospective dangers concussions had for their long-term health, though this was later shot down by a federal judge claiming that it was insufficient sum. An NFL player may succumb from thousands of hits to the head playing football all

There needs to be more safety in the NFL because of the immediate dangers of concussions. According to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, “a concussion is an injury to the brain that results in temporary loss of normal brain function.”(AANS) The most common symptoms are confusion, dizziness, headaches, memory loss all of which can have lifelong effects. Concussions are a serious injury because it can do a lot of damage to the brain; therefore, there needs to be a way to limit the blows to the head that causes them. If one gets a high number of concussions, then there is a high chance of their life being affected in a negative way. A report published by the NFL states that the number of concussions in 2016 was 244. That is a decline from 2012 when there were 261 concussions. The decline shows that there has been some progress in reducing the amount of concussions in the NFL, but there still are 244 players being exposed to the symptoms that can be an occurrence for their whole lives. The NFL needs to do more to protect its employees from concussions via safety rules. A major problem is the concussion protocol. The NFL states that if a player exhibits symptoms during a game, then they “must be removed and evaluated by the Club medical team,” (NFL Concussion Protocol 4). This seems like a good rule, but there is a lot of gray area in this rule because a team can have an examination, but they can falsely claim that the player does not have a concussion and place him back in the game. In an article for USA Today, Jarrett Bell writes about a play where Indianapolis Colts quarterback, Jacoby Brissett, was hit in the head and it seemed that he would not come back, but the Colts cleared him after one play with no concussion. In the article, Chris Nowinski,

As of May 23, there have been over 2,200 lawsuits against the NFL over concussions. Most people think that concussions occur only during huge helmet-to-helmet collisions resulting in a player being knocked unconscious. These hits do cause severe concussions but the truth is that most concussions happen during small hits or in a dog pile. These mild hits add up and take a toll on your brain. I believe that the NFL should implement a concussion limit and mental test in order to protect player’s brains from damage. (Ex: more than 3 mild concussions in a single season will result in a mandatory leave for the rest of the season, and the player must pass a mental test to see if he is capable of

One hard hit to a NFL player’s head can destroy their life. Concussions are a major problem that the NFL has been dealing with for a very long time. As a huge football fan, I have a special interest with this issue. When concussions were first identified as a problem, they were extremely down played. People thought that injuries to knees and backs were much worse than a concussion. What they did not know was that a concussion is lethal and can cause serious consequences. After this was discovered, the NFL started to take steps to improve the safety of players, but for some, it was far too late. Concussions that NFL players receive are negatively impacting their lives after their career, due to Chronic

It is important to analyze the NFL and concussions among its players as an interrelated issue rather than looking at individual instances. When a player sustains a concussion they then undergo physical repercussions from this traumatic brain injury. The case that really started all this concussion discussion was back in 2002 when Hall of Fame Center Mike Webster was found dead. Webster’s death spurred debate on the issue that still continues today. Meanwhile, the NFL’s role as a business has also played a significant role in limiting its ability to address the concussion problem and other brain injuries that result from playing professional football. Prior to his death, Webster had suffered from such severe pain that the only

People are beginning to blame the NFL and football leagues for their concussion. The NFL has been set afire over the past few years. Former players are beginning to sue the league because of concussions they have received throughout the years for playing. There are 4,500 ailing retirees who, in 2011, sued the NFL over a perceived negligence to warn them of the sports risks. In return that cost the National football league $765 million dollars. So, over the next 65 years, all retired NFL players can receive baseline medical exams, educational services and a payout formula based on illness and age. This lead a spark to college football players who in return have filed lawsuits against the NCAA (National College Athletic Association) for concussions they allegedly sustained as student players.

Concussions in football have always been a problem. Recently the NFL is doing more to protect players from this serious head injury. a couple of moves made by the NFL to prevent concussions is that they moved the kickoff line up 5 yards resulting in a higher chance of a touchback. Another move to prevent concussions is that players are getting fined for illegal tackles that occur. The NFL is doing more to protect players because they realize concussions can have serious effects later in life like losing the ability to remember things. According to Nadia Kounang “NFL football players are 3 times more likely to have a neurodegenerative disease compared to the average population”. Examples of these diseases are Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. The target population is football players who have received concussions in their playing days. Many of these head injuries were caused by players who wanted to excite the crowd with a big hit knowing a lot of the fans were just there to see violence and that the player would become more popular to those

While the NFL is currently a very entertaining and popular American past time, there is one issue that threatens the future of the game-concussions. Concussions affect 1.6 to 3.8 million athletes and children annually in the United States. Among athletes, football is the most common sport involving risks of concussions for males, and soccer is the most common sports with concussion risks for females. The NFL has admitted that brain trauma effects a third of all NFL players (Knowles.) Concussions have been part of the game since the very beginning, but it 's only in the past 50 years or so that medical science and the public has become aware of the serious long term effects of concussions. The NFL is spending money on researching the problem, because they have been sued from hundreds of players that have suffered long-term damage from concussions. The NFL needs to dedicate more money and research into increasing helmet safety, implementing rules and policies to protect players, and utilizing the best response treatment to prevent and protect players from concussions.

In September, all around the country, football fans are preparing for the tailgating, football parties and eating, but none are looking forward to head injuries. As time goes on fans, officials, and players are becoming aware of the elevated numbers of head injuries that happen every day in the NFL. Football has been America’s sport for almost 100 years, but the overall statistics and continuous arguments involving concussion rates do not seem to agree. An increasing number of NFL players have shown signs of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), indicating that the NFL’s inconsistency in enforcing regulations to prevent concussions is resulting in a significant risk to players’ long term physical and psychological health issues.

Too many Corporations like the NFL are not giving full discloser to their employees about medical problems that could arise while performing their jobs. The NFL knew back in the 30’s the danger of repeated concussions could cause, but they refrained from telling their employees and the public. The NFL wasn’t acknowledging the amount of damage concussions were causing to former and current players, such as the case with Mike Webster. It was always a battle for Webster. He was receiving disability money from the NFL due to his head injury, but at the lowest amount possible for an NFL player who played the game. A partial disability at that. Webster’s lawyer appeal to a district court in Baltimore where they overturned the NFL’s decision and gave Webster full disability. This was a good win for Webster; he was confused, living on junk food, and would be curled up in a fetal position for days. Still the NFL fought, and got the Baltimore’s court decision overturned in federal court, which stated he did not qualify for full disability (Laskas). Even the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) knew of this issue and were being sued by former NFL players. According to a civil complaint filed by former NFL players Gregory Westbrooks and Christian Ballard, they say that the NFLPA knew the risks concussions could present

NFL players vs concussion should we stop football because of concussion or should we let the players make their own decisions? A concussion is a temporary unconsciousness caused by a blow to the head. The term is also used loosely to describe the aftereffects, such as confusion or temporary incapacity. Many players who stuffer a concussion have memory loss, and some have personally. Even committed suicide like Junior Seau he was a NFL player who suffer many concussions, by playing football. There are many cases of the NFL getting sued by former players who suffer from the traumatic brain injury like how is the NFL preventing concussion in the games. Dr. Bennet Omalu stated that there are no equipment that can prevent such injuries.