For some, the future status of football is in limbo. For Bernard Pollard, it seems rather clear.
“In another 20 or 30 years, I don’t even think football will be in existence anymore.” That’s what the Baltimore Ravens defensive back said in an interview with SportsRadio 610 in Houston on Friday, May 4. How could a sport with so much adulation across the country, worshipped by millions, cease to exist in the not-so-distant future?
A league-wide and nationwide discussion has gained steam regarding player safety in football. Researchers have been studying brains of former athletes and the consequences playing in the NFL has on a player’s health after their career. Over time, evidence has piled up, showing a causal relationship between playing football and brain injuries. As a result, some have become reluctant to have their sons play such a violent and vicious sport, including former NFL players. Former NFL quarterback Kurt Warner on Thursday, May 3, told Colin Cowherd on ESPN Radio, “I would encourage my kids to probably stay away from it if I could.” Hall of Fame guard Joe DeLamielleure echoed Warner’s sentiments to San Diego radio station Xtra 1360 on Sunday, May 6.
“I have five grandsons,” DeLamielleure said. “I have told my daughters from day one, those boys are not playing football.”
Then factor in the New Orleans Saints bounty scandal along with three former NFL players – Ray Easterling, Dave Duerson, and Junior Seau – having committed suicide in the past 15 months, it begs the question: is football in trouble?
Despite this troubling trend, the NFL has basked in the glory over the last several years as they have become America’s sweetheart. The other three major professional sports take a backseat, as evidenced by ESPN’s inclination to put football at the forefront no matter the time of year. Whether it’s a discussion of Super Bowl favorites heading into postseason play, a daily update on the life of New York Jets backup quarterback Tim Tebow, or Mel Kiper Jr’s 2013 mock draft board merely hours after the conclusion of the 2012 NFL Draft, the worldwide leader in sports makes sure every angle is covered. That includes the discussion of improving player safety.
“We can go a long way toward minimizing the risk,” Daniel Hand High School football Head Coach Steve Filippone said. “Through education, coaching, physical training, conditioning, and the best equipment for our players. When it’s all said and done, football is a sport where young men are taught to violently collide with others at high speeds and with impunity. There will always be injuries.”
While developments in the professional ranks are well documented, the issues are relevant across all levels, through college football, high school football, and even pop warner football. The Brain Injury Association of Arizona conducted a study in August 2011 and found that over 62,000 concussions take place in high school sports every year, with football being responsible for two-thirds of those incidents. The study notes that the number is likely higher, as mild concussions often slip through the cracks. This leads to further problems, as further damage can be done to the brain when not given enough time to heal.
New Canaan Athletic Director Jay Egan expressed no concern about his football team’s ability to monitor and handle concussions accordingly, citing “full compliance with Public Act No. 10-62.” A state bill, the act discusses the proper protocol for a team to take with student athletes and concussions. Although there are precautions in place, a decline in youth participation has been noted. A 2010 survey by the National Senior Games Association (NSGA) found a 19.2 percent decrease in youth aged 12-17 playing tackle football, dropping from 3.593 million in 2001 to 2.904 million in 2010. Tackle football participation among all age groups was at 11.9 million in 2006, but decreased to 9.3 million in 2010.
Despite all of this, Filippone remains unfazed at the thought of a decline in the sport. Like Egan, Filippone cited the requirement that all certified coaches in Connecticut must complete a learning module to be able to correctly evaluate and handle potential concussions. Filippone also noted several areas which have improved the well-being of players.
“A significant emphasis is placed on proper technique, which is designed to take the head and neck out of blocking and tackling,” Filippone said. “Rule changes regarding legal and illegal blocking, spearing, and helmet to helmet contact have also helped. There have (also) been significant improvements in head gear and mouth guards designed to mitigate the effects of severe impact.”
Egan, Filippone, and NFL agent Joe Linta all supported their sons playing football. Egan doesn’t have sons, but would allow them, while Linta has two sons currently playing high school football.
“Football is a valuable experience on many levels,” Filippone said. “It challenges a young man physically, mentally and emotionally. It demands that you become part of a team and sacrifice for the greater good. It exposes courage and character while building strength.”
Both Egan and Linta said that the positives which come from playing football made the potential risks worthwhile. However, both agreed that tackle football shouldn’t be played until age 12.
“I think it should be a national or state mandate,” Egan said. “The violent nature of the sport seems to be inappropriate for children.”
Filippone shared the same sentiments as Egan and Linta, but admitted he was more at peace once his sons finished playing.
“I had two sons play football for me and I celebrated the day they both played there last game for me,” Filippone said. “I celebrated because they had completed a rigorous and challenging experience which had made them better and stronger men. I also celebrated because the risk of physical injury was no longer going to be a weekly event. Any parent needs to balance the risk vs. the reward in contact sports. I am certain that the lessons my boys learned were worth the risk.”
As the risk associated with a NFL career becomes more and more documented, one must wonder if there will be a shift in the dynamic of NFL contracts. Unlike the NBA and MLB, contracts are not fully guaranteed, as teams can cut a player the second he suffers a career-jeopardizing injury or simply suffers a decline in ability.
“The guaranteed part of a player contract is always the most important part of a negotiation,” Linta said.
The guaranteed part is what the team is obligated to pay, which is often why players hold out in pursuit of a new contract. They understand their window to cash in will be open for only so long, therefore it’s essential to reel in as much money as they can before their time in the league is up. There is no love lost between players and owners, who have been at odds when it comes to money across all four major professional sports since the beginning of time. Although players generally know what they’re signing up for, they’d still like to be handsomely compensated given the fact that they are the product which the NFL makes obscene profits off of.
It is feasible, that the eye-opening revelations that come from continuous light being shed on players debilitating as a result of a NFL career, will discourage those who would’ve previously pursued that path prior to being presented with such material. However, there will likely always be a sufficient supply of players, as there are plenty of people residing in lower-income families or poverty-stricken families who have no alternative options to be upwardly mobile. In that case, the supply of the product is not in danger, but the demand may be, if people turn away from football in the long run. Filippone is not concerned about such a scenario.
“Some will wonder,” Filippone said. “If in a society that has reached our level of sophistication, there remains a need for a physical and emotional challenge to a young man’s spirit and courage. I say that every society has had a class of men who were willing, and able, to challenge themselves in a public forum, in a manner that allowed others, who were unqualified, to live vicariously through them. Today’s gladiators are our athletes and primarily those who compete in physically demanding sports.”
It will be interesting to see the state of the NFL down the line, as everyone can agree that it’s currently in a state of turmoil. Filippone, for one, doesn’t think football is going anywhere anytime soon.
“I think it will be challenged as our society gets softer and the thought of purposeful physical violence becomes more abhorrent to the mainstream. (However), it’s unlikely that our culture will ever do away with it. Like the Romans and the Greeks, we as a society crave competition, continue to build bigger venues and will always gratefully accept the sacrifice of others when it fulfills a need of our society.”
