The National Football League on Legal Hits

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.

It is to me understanding that each and every NFL football player is taught everyday to play hard and hit hard. NFL players know that they are taking a massive risk of getting injured every time they step a foot on a football field, whether it be for a game or just practice. If you have the football in your possession, you should be able to take a hit anywhere on your body, even if it is on your helmet. There is no point in time where a line should be drawn. If a player makes helmet-to-helmet contact unintentionally, he should not be fined as much as if it were intentional.

In the article “The NFL Recognizes Brain Damage to Players” the author Lawrence Gable explains that NFL players are experiencing too many concussions. Concussions can lead to suicide and several other mental issues that can affect the NFL players as well as future players. Football players and their families are suing the NFL for 765 million dollars. Gable states, “The NFL has admitted that football is causing permanent damage. Now it must convince the judge that it finally has the players’ best interests at heart” (paragraph 10). This quote shows how football is dangerous and can lead to serious injuries. Some people may believe that the NFL does not care about the players based upon the research Gable provided. The author’s purpose is

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.

Multiple deaths from a degenerative brain disease, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, is what the true culprit of the NFL is. This disease is caused from repetitive blunt force trauma to the head, leading those who are effected to struggle later in life and even turn to suicide. People are writing about these safety concerns in football nowadays because of the multitude of deaths related to this disease and the way the NFL choses to deal with it. The NFL disregarding its players is a subject at hand currently because people continue to suffer from CTE without even confirming they have it before they have already deteriorated. “Football Has Become Too Real to Watch” by television writer, Eric Buchman, describes these realities of the NFL and how it went from being a safe haven to a place where the NFL pretends to be oblivious to the realities of the game. Buchman’s argument is that the joy of football is gone due to the reality of current issues within the NFL. The NFL getting away with awful things is what Buchman wants the reader to take away from this article. His contribution to this debate is that he offers a perspective of the fans for why this issue is important without any biases towards the NFL.

In the past four years, the National Football League “NFL” has made several changes to the NFL rulebook advocating safety by adding rules and implementing fines on players who fail to follow these policies. Rules such as the two-a-days ban, kickoff return rule change, helmet to helmet contact fines, requirement of NFL players to use the HITS System, and banning of players to return to playing football the same day they received their concussion were examples of measures taken by the NFL that promote safety. Although most of these players oppose the reformed rules, the NFL executives support these rulings feeling it reduces the amount of serious injuries. It is imperative for the NFL to retain its recently added safety rules, since it

Steve Almond’s story “You Knock my Brains out This Sunday and I Knock Your Brains out the Next Time we Meet” speaks to the underlying truth about America’s Sunday pastime and how concussions can be prevented not only by the industry, but by its viewers as well. Football is well known after having been brought to the public’s eye as study after study was released proving that there was a link from football to head injuries. Although in our modern society we have already subconsciously made the connection between football and concussions. The fact that this problem is not decreasing, could be surprising, as the lack of understanding about who has control and the ability to influence change. We hear that football helmets and pads, are getting better, but that does not stop concussions. We do not hear how helmets make players feel and change their play style based on the feeling of invincibility that people feel while wearing a helmet. Pads and helmets do help protect the players but false senses of security due to lack of knowledge on what

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

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.

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.

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?”

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.

In contact and collision sports (e.g. football, hockey, wrestling, and soccer), concussion is a frequent injury at all levels of participation in sports. Concussion has become a trending topic in mainstream media part in due to the retired National Football League (NFL) players’ lawsuit against the National Football League (NFL). In the lawsuit, former NFL players alleged the NFL minimized and actively suppressed the awareness between the link of sub-concussive and concussive injuries in football and chronic neuro-cognitive damage [10]. The battle between former players and the NFL league office resulted into a settlement of $765 million dollars in 2012 [10]. As a result of the lawsuit, the NFL, National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), high school, and youth football have further increased efforts on concussion awareness and prevention such as changing the rule regarding hitting with a helmet

The targeting rule in college football could be the “most significant rule” change ever made in the game (Matter). According to Greg Johnson of the NCAA, the rule was passed by the Football Rules Committee of the NCAA in February of 2013 to be implemented with the 2013 fall football season and is consistent with the committees’ continued attempt to address player safety. The new rule now places a tougher penalty on the defensive player for dangerous contact with the offensive player, notably direct helmet-to-helmet hits, or hits aimed above the shoulders of the offensive player. This direct, helmet-to-helmet contact is known as targeting. Although the implementation of the new targeting rule is controversial, it will help to

Playing football is not like playing other sports. Athletes in all kinds of sports risk injuring themselves, but in football, a lot of the risk comes from other athletes. While there are many ways to be injured playing football, one of the worst is head-to-head targeting. This has been a problem in football since the beginning of the game, especially, when equipment was not very protective. Over the past eight years, the National College Athletic Association (NCAA) has implemented rules and penalties specifically designed to protect players and to hopefully reduce the number of bad head injuries (Marshall). The NCAA is doing the right thing by protecting players from severe injury by calling and enforcing targeting penalties.