Professional Athlete Controversy

Because sports are very important to many people, and have been since the days of the Romans, there is much pride and honor in sports; however, there is something that has tainted the image of sports and athletes alike:

The spectator of this sport has an obligation to the players of the sport, to make sure that the organization is protecting and looking out for them. Yet not only should the viewer be held accountable for the lack of communication in consequences between the player and the pro scene, but the organization of the NFL needs to make sure that their players have a full understanding of what is going on and how they need to protect the players. The current situation that is understood, contents contain implied knowledge that all parties of this table are in uniform knowledge and agreement to what comes of playing football. Finally, this should also happen at the youth level when kids are just getting into the sport, as it would better inform the parents and the kid if they understood the full

Sports of old were merely competitive activities rooted in heroism and romanticism. Sports activities today, however, have no such innocence or simplicity. Currently in America, the activities that make up our sports culture is not only the competitive events themselves but the processes and issues that underlie and surround them. Entwined in our sports culture is the giant business of mass broadcasting. Indeed, sports and the media go hand in hand like peanut butter and jelly, like Mickey and Minnie, Darth Vader and Luke. They are intertwined and depend on each other to continue to grow. Sports media includes television, radio, magazines, newspapers, books, films, and, now, most importantly, social media devices provided by the

This paper will discuss the NFL Concussion Scandal and analysis of the ethical issues regarding the scandal. American football has always been defined as a contact sport. Individuals know before playing the sport that they take on the risk of physical harm to their bodies. However, concussions and other repetitive head-blows could end in death and permanent damage. Also, American football has been shown to be the cause of chronic traumatic encephalopathy(CTE), which can lead to suicidal thoughts, memory loss, and dementia. With players undergoing a lot of physical harm without the proper care, many may see the NFL as an unethical business.

An increasingly popular topic in the realm of sports fans has begun to unravel. The National Football League recently has begun to introduce new rules and regulations for their athletes to start abiding by to ensure the continued safety of the player’s health. Although most find this change in the game of professional football as a positive step forward, others see this as a diminishment of the sanctity of NFL football. New rules and regulations that have been introduced into NFL are vital to athletes involved in the sport and help them to play with lowered risks of long term injuries that could possibly affect not only them but also the league in the future as well. The reasons for these

The court system may have allowed many of these players to walk away from very serious crimes with inadequate punishment while the NFL’s response did little to discourage criminal behavior. Because of this, the first part of the solution lies with the judicial system to begin holding players accountable to the same standards as the average American citizen. Michael Vick served just a year and a half behind bars in a state that routinely sentences individuals to five-year terms for the same crime (Humane Society). In the case of O.J. Simpson, a jury of his peers allowed him to walk out of a courtroom a free man despite compelling

Domestic violence is one of the most common crime among male athletes. The statistics are staggering. Ray Rice, Greg Hardy, Ray McDonald – three standout NFL players who have been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons over the last 12 months. The acts of the men, particularly Rice, who was caught on camera punching his then fiancée and now wife, Janay in the elevator of an Atlantic City casino, brought domestic violence and sexual assault into sharp focus, in particular how the NFL handles players who commit such dreadful acts (and yes, we can all agree that the justice systems responsible for these cases failed terribly).

The national football league has stiffened its policy on legal hits. The hit zone has shrunk, while player frustrations have grown. The policy is enacted in an effort to reduce the number of concussions in the game of football. The enforcement of these rules has strayed away from being all about safety. The policy on hits has created a divide among its players and fans alike. The policy of hits being enforced so strictly has had a significant impact on the sport. The sociology of the NFL and the rule itself drive this argument. By stepping on the field as an NFL football player, it is accepted that it is very dangerous. The players make enough money to make the concussions worth it. Profiting from the fine money for these hits has caused the NFL to be enforcing these rules unethically, the rules and the impact they have had on the sport have been detrimental to football.

In recent years countless newscasts have been filled with stories pertaining to the physical repercussions of football on its players. Don Banks, the author of “What Price Football?” informs his audience how just recently, the NFL has agreed to pay $765 million to former players to make the concussion-related lawsuits acting against them, disappear. Now, obviously this “settlement” remains ineffective to the ultimate goal of bringing a halt to these injuries because the game continues to be played unchanged and unabated. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a progressive degenerative disease that has become more apparent in players of the National Football League. Several retired players such as Chicago Bears safety Dave Duerson and All-Pro Linebacker Junior Seau, have committed suicide. Research and medical evidence suggests that CTE may have played a role in these deaths. According to Jim Trotter’s Sports Illustrated article “Heading For Trouble,” currently more than 1,000 former and current players are plaintiffs against the NFL, claiming the league failed to adequately treat concussions and educate players about potential long-term consequences of brain trauma. These facts prove that the NFL’s clear higher motive pertains to the money profited from the sport versus conducting a game that ensures every players safety. Professional football will remain a life-threatening

In today’s NFL, injuries, particularly head injuries, have become a common occurrence regardless of the amount of preventative training that the athletes invest in. These reoccurring head injuries have led to the deaths of former players and yet, instead of their families accepting that it was the player’s decision to continue playing, they somehow choose to blame the NFL as if the NFL committee were the ones creating the injuries to happen or forcing them to play through it. The NFL isn’t to blame for concussions sustained while playing the game because the coaches, medical staff, and players allow continuous play, creation of financial aid programs, new injury policies, and new equipment technology.

Constantly, players from the NFL have been causing problems off of the football field. For example, Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice and Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson been causing very “domestic violence”. “Their behavior, and that of a handful of other NFL stars, has been outrageous.” The NFL can urge its several thousand players to behave morally. When players are on the field, they act aggressively so this can reflect their behavior once they are finished with the game. “The NFL can urge its several thousand players to behave morally. However, it cannot watch them 24 hours a day without seriously violating their privacy and civil liberties.” People believe that they deserve punishments that fit their crimes. Overall, the National Football players should be punished for what they have

While there is definitely plenty of blame to go around, the Pacers-Pistons brawl has raised more than just questions over who is the culprit. Media pundits want to know who are the victims? Are the victims America's families who can no longer attend a professional sporting event without the fear of it erupting in violence? Are the victims teenagers and adolescent children who wear number 91 Artest jerseys because they idolize him as a player? Are the victims those professional athletes who have worked hard to promote sportsmanship and integrity in their sports, only to see one of their own tarnish the whole profession? The Pacers-Pistons brawl has all the right ingredients for a good debate. The incident is squarely at the intersection where sports, culture, values and politics all meet. In this age of mediated sports stars it is hard to push aside the action of our athletes. We can no longer view them as being trivial to our society, especially when their actions are as visible and as jarring as the ones that occurred last November. The visibility of our athletes is unquestioned. With multiple 24-hour cable sports channels, national sporting magazines and nationally syndicated call-in sports radio shows, sports have become a dominate fixture in American society. We worship our athletes. What's not to worship? More than their Hollywood counterparts athletes get tagged with the role model

Personal conduct in the NFL, National Football League, is an issue that is starting to spiral out of control. Late September, 2014, “the league [had] suspended at least 20 players for actions including assault, substance abuse and use of performance-enhancing drugs” (White); this was only a few weeks into the regular season of play for the league. The NFL has grown enormously since it was founded on August 20, 1920 in Canton, Ohio. But, this league has become more and more lenient with its players and personnel. Many professional athletes in the NFL receive special treatment regardless of their improper actions, thus allowing them to elude the consequences and in turn setting a misleading example for their young fans. In order

Whether it be baseball, football, soccer, or basketball, sports are appreciated not only in America, but all over the world. One of these sports that is particularly popular in America is Football. The immense crowds of people who sit at a stadium or on the couch to watch a game never fail to recognize every single play on the field; however, many fans pay little to no attention to one of the most important components of the game, the player-association relationship. When signing a contract with an NFL team an NFL player is effectively dedicating his life to his new organization. His duty is to play for his team in order to make the organization money, and money they make. In the NFL last year “each team received $226.4 million” (Brady 1).

Salaries, wages, and compensations have always been major and generally controversial topics in democratic America. And, with the rising popularity of college athletics, particularly football, compensation (or lack thereof) for college athletes has recently been a hot topic in American sports. While some of the debate stems from the similarity between responsibilities college athletes have to their programs and those of professionals, most of the issue involves the principles of amateurism. Recent “scandals” involving college athletes such as Terrelle Pryor, Johnny Manziel, and Todd Gurley have raised questions about the ethics of amateurism, particularly with regard to the NCAA organization. The issue is found in a very gray area, where there is most likely no definitive one-size-fits-all solution, but the resolution of this issue is one that will change and shape the future of college athletics across the national landscape.