Friday, February 5, 2016

Super

footballLorenzo Mauldin of the New York Jets is carted off the field after suffering a concussion in a game on Sept. 13.Rich Schultz/Getty Images
His body wrecked at 36, Antwaan Randle Elregrets ever playing in the National Football League. After he died of an overdose of pain medication at 27, Tyler Sash was found to have chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the degenerative brain disease believed to be caused by repeated blows to the head. Concussion diagnoses have increased by about a third since the league let independent medical officials assess players. And it seems that with each N.F.L. veteran’s death, another diagnosis of C.T.E. is revealed.
How can fans enjoy watching a game that helps ruin players’ lives?
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1 comment:

  1. The NY Times article brings to light the dark side of American football, with such intense imagery, after reading it many would feel too "guilty" to watch American football; however, undoubtedly the guilt would soon subside (This guilt likely stems from fans actively pouring money and pressure onto sick and injured athletes to attend and play well in every game). Football has become so ingrained in the American culture, especially in the South, that these revealing stories about CTE may not be doing the job. I'd like to draw comparison to the issue of animal cruelty, as we discussed in class.

    Revealing documentaries such as Food Inc, and the like, did a good job of momentarily morphing the mindsets of some Americans to lay off of the processed meats, but not until one sat down in front of a plate of some meaty food they enjoy. Also, because the release date of the film was in early June, the guiltiness of animal cruelty certainly wore off by the time Thanksgiving and Christmas rolled around.

    This is parallel to the football controversies we are seeing. A film was recently released about it, the media is constantly covering it, big corporations that are gaining monetary benefit from those victims are in denial of it, but we can predict that unless something is done soon while the public is still aware of it, this can all being to wane into a distant topic in the minds of Americans like animal cruelty is today.

    Right now is the best time to pass laws, change policies, and gather support for this issue because the likelihood of things changing is higher when the public has anger and excitement built up. Again, as we discussed in class, it's not always ethically right to make life-changing decisions in a state of excitement. I believe when it comes to policy change and reform, the only way to get the public on board with a decision is through stirring up emotion (of course this is the way many malevolent rulers have come into power and enforced unethical rulings.)

    But back to my main point, I believe this is how fans can enjoy watching a game that is actively ruining the health and lives of those playing in it.

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