As the NFL grows in infamy from their many concussion scandals, the misusing of prescription drugs is overshadowed, but still remains as a major issue in the NFL. A huge problem facing the NFL today is the ill advised use of painkillers as it affects former players and current players alike. If nothing is done to stop this dilemma, players will continue to be affected by the accoutrements of painkillers. Only through DEA investigations, increased restrictions on prescription drugs, and increased monitoring of player’s mental health, will we end the epidemic of the misuse of painkillers in the NFL. Background of the Problem As NFL players continue their careers, they become household names that people start to look up to as role models. …show more content…
With injuries plaguing the NFL, team doctors are able to use drugs such as prescription painkillers to allow players to play through pain. NFL team doctors are able to to receive and distribute illegal painkillers with ease. In a Vice Sports article about the suppliers of the NFL’s painkiller addiction, Aaron Gordon states, “SportPharm,...from at least June of 2009 to June of 2010, illegally provided prescription drugs to 81 team doctors across American college and professional sports” (Gordon, 2014, para. 2). Many NFL team doctors claim that they did not know about the illegal drugs and that they only use these companies for their systems of business. Gordon expresses that in a U-T San Diego report written by Michael Lipman, NFL teams are not only using SportPharm, an unlicensed California Pharmacy, for their convenient tracking system, but for the buying of massive quantities of painkillers. These painkillers end up in the hands of the players who have the potential of misusing them from their intended use which can destroy their lives. One cause of professional football player’s painkiller addictions is that Doctors feel pushed to have the players continue playing. Some doctors believe that if they do not load up their players with heavy drugs to be able to play, they will be let go from their
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
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.
Based on my research, there are considerable lifelong health related consequences associated with participating in grueling sport activities such as professional football. What responsibilities should the National Football League (NFL) have in regards to providing an adequate support system to players suffering from a concussion during a practice or regular season game and from lifelong challenges as a result of traumatic head injuries sustained during the regular season or practices? The resources I have referenced in this proposal essay, provide evidence to answer this question and lends support to my position that considering the violent nature of professional football, the NFL needs to take more efforts to protect players during the games and afterwards if a serious injury has been sustained that affects their quality of life and future earnings. Current policies are inadequate and continue to contribute to lawsuits and cost lives.
The roles that athletes play in fans lives predicts the way people look at them. NFL athletes play as major role models in fans outlook on life. You notice people wanting to look like them, talk like them, and even act like them. Leadership roles are put in the paths of people as a result of these major athletes posing as leaders in everyday life. Just like anything else though there is a negative side to it. People aren’t only experiencing the amazing things players do on the field, but off the field can be another story. Negative things could happen off the field and you notice some teenagers or kids wanting
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 NFL attempted to hide the truth and resolved to a biased decision that was unethical. The most important unethical issue was the lack of clarity for the players involved. The players were uninformed about the risk factors of their career. The NFL did not compensate for the injuries acquired during their career. Lastly, the issue broadens beyond professional football to different sports, even those involving many American youths, who are affected by CTE. The three main concerns led to the ethical question which examines whether or not it is ethical to allow players to continue participating in sports activity that would result in long-term damages to the brain. Facts from journals examine cognitive impairment related to concussions, methods that NFL took to handle the cases, and application of the study results to sports beyond the NFL.
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
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
Also, the NFL has rejected the whole research by Dr. Omalu and Dr. Mckee because the League is afraid if the documents were leaked it would affect all football players. However, the NFL did a great job in hiding these facts from the media until the Fainaru brothers found them. When the public already knows the side effect of playing football, the NFL tried to support the research in order to make public trust the NFL that they want to help to reduce the number of brain injuries. With the NFL paying $765 million dollars, for the research, this is just another cover up that they are trying to do so that the NFL’s name would not be disgraced for future athletes in the
Science says concussions are inevitable; 96 percent of all NFL players and 79 percent of all football players test positive for brain disease (Source: Frontline League of Denial 9/18/15 Concussion Watch Article). Prior to 2002, the NFL’s approach to preventing, treating, and managing concussions and CTE was very different than it is today. My essay will explore what some of those differences were and whether or not changes in the NFL are improving the outcomes and quality of life for current and former NFL players.
One of most dangerous sports in the world is also one of the most loved. Professional football has been America’s favorite sport since the NFL was founded on August 20th, 1920 and, its popularity is growing with Super Bowl XLIX raking in 114.4 million viewers to become the most watched telecast in U.S. history. The record they broke was previously owned by the 2014 Super Bowl, which received 112.2 million viewers. It also is one of the biggest markets with players, owners, general managers and TV networks, making millions of dollars each time a game is aired. But with this comes a consequence, something millions of American and international viewers are willing to ignore, the physical and mental health of the athletes that play the sport. Professional
The most common way of doing this in modern football is to load up with painkillers. This practices is being employed to such an extent that some players report playing numb. Calvin discussed his personal encounter with painkillers by saying “whether it be Toradol, Tylenol, T3s – you know, gettin’ cortisol shots, things like that. You know, those are the main things that I did, or that I took” (qtd in “Calvin Johnson’s Retirement”). He later went on to admit that the team doctors are “trying to do whatever they can to get you back on the field and make your team look good” (qtd in “Calvin Johnson’s Retirement”). The clear display of apathy from team doctors truly puts on display the extent to which NFL players are mistreated. Not only are player’s health complications disregarded during their careers, there is ever less help after they have
“…medical researchers believe that between 1 and 3 million youths and adults have taken anabolic steroids in one form or another specifically to enhance their looks or athletic performances,” stated Nuwer (Nuwer, 61). As astounding as these figures are, the number of performance drug users is steadily increasing. With this progressively increasing numbers, it is projected that millions more will use steroids in the immediate future (Newer, 61). Athletes have always sought an advantage in competition even if ignoring the law and their health if necessary. Using drugs of any sort to facilitate an athlete’s athletic ability should be illegal. The use of performance enhancing drugs is not only detrimental to the user but it also creates an
In the days when steroids were only being used by body builders and professional wrestlers, stories about performance enhancing drugs could only be found on the back pages of the newspapers. When former Oakland Raiders All-Pro Lyle Alzado admitted to steroid use in a 1991 Sports Illustrated article the whispers about what professional athletes were using steroids began to get louder. (Puma, 2005) Finally, in 2002, when Caminiti, a former MVP, came clean, two things were clear; athletes in all sports were using these drugs, and that they worked. The fact that steroid use had permeated our national pastime combined with the media explosion of the internet and 24 hour a day sports talk created a perfect storm which created the biggest sports story of the new millennium so far. However, two other facts remained clear, performance enhancing drugs were old news, and athletes in all sports from all over the world had been using them for years.
Since when do team owners care so much about the long-term health of their players? By the time they finish playing out their careers, some can barely walk or lift their arms above their heads due to the rigorous demands of their employer. Players are expected to play hurt or they will be categorized as “soft,” and “soft” players do not get the same respect from their team’s owners. If a player wishes to put something into his body, it is his choice. After all, “Professional baseball players are competent adults who are capable of processing the risk of ingesting steroids.” (Peterson 2). The recent death of former baseball player and admitted steroid user Ken Caminiti raised many eyebrows. But Ken Caminiti was also a known cocaine and alcohol addict, among other things. His death was more attributed to that rather than his use of steroids during his playing career.