OT: Chris Borland ESPN Article

Submitted by ak47 on

We are heading back into football season and getting excited all over again but it also means heading back into cheering on 18-22 year olds who are hiding injuries to keep playing.  This Chris Borland article is incredible and he does a good job of talking about a lot of the issues I have with football.  The major thing about that stood out to me was that he doesn't believe you can make football safe.  He isn't trying to stop people from playing but this whole idea that if you tackle "the right way" everything is ok is wrong.  Personally I'm not sure how many seasons I can continue dissacociate myself from my beliefs and keep watching football but being a fan is such a big part of my life it is hard to walk away from.

Anyways I just think it is an important conversation we need to keep having.  So I wanted to post what I thought was a really good article.

MGoBoard

Ronnie Kaye

August 20th, 2015 at 5:52 PM ^

It's just the inane ramblings of a guy too attached to football that will stretch to absurd lengths to defend it. This phenomenon is commonly seen on the top-rated ESPN.com comments every time the brain injury topic comes up.

Joined: 05/09/2015

MGoPoints: 104

SalvatoreQuattro

August 20th, 2015 at 7:35 PM ^

That's what I did.

What I am NOT doing--and what you and your fellow hypocrite are engaging in--is mindless "soul searching" over football inherent brutality. That it took articles and a lawsuit to get you two  to comprehend this says more about your blinkered intellects than anything else.

 

The fact is that both of you are on a board largely dedicated to a football team. You and your homie's comments smack of the worst kind of smug hypocrisy. If both of you were  sincere you'd stop following Michigan football and quit this board.

 

Joined: 11/30/2010

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Ronnie Kaye

August 20th, 2015 at 7:42 PM ^

So you are calling for total tribalism on a forum that is supposed to be an expression of ideas. That's healthy.

And you have a lot of nerve calling the paths of others "mindless" in a thread where you openly wondered why people weren't calling attention to the dangers of music because of Amy Whinehouse. 

Of course you don't want to do soul-searching. Delusional beings generally don't.

Joined: 05/09/2015

MGoPoints: 104

Haywood Jablomy

August 20th, 2015 at 7:48 PM ^

makes it post worthy?  What epiphany was shared that isn't already out there. As Quatro said, you're just realizing this is a violent sport?

And, no, I don't need some ass in my ear talking about the ills of drinking and alchol while I'm enjoying an IPA at Ashley's.  The Alcholoics Anonymous meeting is more appropriate. So, you can pretend as if you are some deeply reflective intellectual willing to address head-on topics others simply don't have the internal fortitude, like you, to do but at the end of the day we just want to drink our beer. So shut the fuck up

Joined: 06/02/2012

MGoPoints: 836

Haywood Jablomy

August 20th, 2015 at 7:41 PM ^

you just don't know how long you can support this sport then proceed to call people stupid.  Since, I am already a perona non grata... Shut the fuck up. You're the one that's stupid and a major pussy. Go do your zumba or finger paint or work on your butterfly conservatory but just stop this bullshit candy ass crusade

Joined: 06/02/2012

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Cranky Dave

August 20th, 2015 at 4:27 PM ^

get the most press but there are plenty of other debilitating injuries in sports.  Deaths in football games were very common in the early 1900s.  While football players do still die this is largely  heart and heat related, not due to brain trauma.  If you feel that strongly about the violence and physical damage to football players then stop watching, reading about, or writing about this sport.   

Joined: 09/08/2012

MGoPoints: 26331

VoiceOReason

August 20th, 2015 at 4:43 PM ^

Water polo also has historical roots in violence and it's interesting how the ties between the violence and spectator numbers, changing rules and conferences, and the sports popularity played out. Hopefully football stays a reasonable balance but still stays a sport where physical dominance is mandatory (and therefore, you can get hurt). From http://www.collegiatewaterpolo.org/fans/gameinfo/history "In 1888, Water polo was introduced into the United States by English swimming instructor John Robinson. The game featured the old rugby style of play which was much like gridiron football in the water. "American style" water polo became very popular and by the late 1890's was played in such venues as the Boston's Mechanics Hall and Madison Square Garden. The game of the day featured set plays like the "flying salmon," where the player with the ball leapt through the air from the backs of his teammates to score a goal. Violence was the game's main attraction. As the sport grew in popularity, so did its level of violence, with little rules to prevent it. In the 1800's the intent of the game was to place the ball with two hands against the wall at one end of the pool to score. Players often swam underwater in an attempt to gain an advantage, only to be attacked by their defenders in the same manner. In addition to the aggressive play, many of the pools and lakes in which it was played were often poorly filtered and very murky, creating even more mystery regarding the actions that took place beneath the surface. It was not uncommon for players to be dragged from the water unconscious. This may have added to the popularity, with crowds as many as 14,000 attending some games in New York City. In fact, its popularity was so great it was named the first Olympic team sport in 1900. Interestingly enough, women's water polo was the last Olympic team sport to be added in 2000." "The most notorious incident in the history of Olympic water polo took place during the 1956 match between the Soviet Union and Hungary. Four weeks prior to the Games, 200,000 Soviet troops invaded Hungary to suppress an anti-Communist uprising, so there was plenty of bad blood between the two sides before the scrappy game started. The game was marred by brawls and became so brutal that officials called it off altogether. Hungary was leading 4-0 at the time and was declared the winner; the team advanced to the finals and won the gold."

Joined: 06/07/2015

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PeterKlima

August 20th, 2015 at 5:12 PM ^

how long will it be before people let this go? it's not much riskier than other activities. it doesn't increase suicide risk, etc. former nfl players typically live longer, etc. when do people start looking at the facts instead of scary men and over protective parenting?

Joined: 08/24/2008

MGoPoints: -313

Hotel Putingrad

August 20th, 2015 at 6:23 PM ^

football's outsized popularity makes it a popular Target. though the most dangerous thing in the article was Borland's suspicion of being set up by the drug test, because that actually sounded like something Goodell might do.

Joined: 12/10/2014

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Philmypockets

August 20th, 2015 at 6:37 PM ^

I would blow someone to go to college like these guys get to. As we become more socialist these kids will soon be back without an option when football is ended. Great call! pause. ... pause. ....Not!

Joined: 03/18/2015

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Haywood Jablomy

August 20th, 2015 at 7:32 PM ^

Good gravy, do your fragile psyche a favor and refrain from watching the gladiatoresque barbarsim each weekend.  Can't stress how much of a complete pussy you are and it's people like your candy ass that'll cause this game to get stripped down to fag football...Whoops, forgot the l ...flag

Joined: 06/02/2012

MGoPoints: 836

Victor Valiant

August 20th, 2015 at 7:56 PM ^

The pussification of American men continues to blow my mind. Are we seriously this concerned about injuries that MIGHT happen to people who CHOOSE to play a given sport? For crying out loud just grow a pair. What is the alternative, no voluntary activities are allowed in the United States if they pose a health risk? Why can't we just accept that life isn't perfect, that sports are not perfect, and that we enjoy some things despite, or maybe a little because of, the violence and risk involved? 

This is such an incredibly slippery slope. Every single adult (yes 18 year old college athletes are adults) knows that football is a violent sport. Nobody that has played football at the high school level or above can possibly think it's a good thing to go head to head with another guy if they've done it a time or 2. We need to keep exploring reasonable ways to make the sport safer, but that needs to be the end of the discussion. Please, I beg of you, if you are a man just please act like it.

 

(Cue whiny pusses complaining about different definitions of manlihood, me being all man, insensitive, etc...)

Joined: 11/23/2013

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NestleCrunch

August 20th, 2015 at 8:19 PM ^

I've been pushing the pussification of America for years. These are fucking grown men in the NFL who choose to play football for fucking millions, more than most will ever make. Not only that how many are from low income parts of society that may have gone a much more dangerous route if not for football. Football brings tons of good to those involved. Simply playing in college usually is not enough for long term serious head  injury. Most of these are NFL studies. What exactly is to be gained from giving up watching football? You want to stop giving people the opportunity to CHOOSE to play football? How many people are worse off from playing than are better off????? No respect at all for the line of thinking from the OP. These are choices. This is not hunger games or the colliseum. We should also ban factories and coal mines too, I wonder how you'll feel without those... Because much more death is associated.

Joined: 03/10/2014

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Sopwith

August 20th, 2015 at 10:08 PM ^

One is the NFL's attempts to bury and discredit the research on CTE, which is not solely or even mostly about concussions. Their real fear isn't about losing a lot of Chris Borlands, TV viewers, or ticket buyers to moral qualms, it's that moms won't let sons play Pop Warner if the current research indicating it's really kids most susceptible to CTE becomes more mainstream knowledge. 

Scandal Two is the NFL's stingy attitude to long-term disability and medical care for ex-players. 

I think I understand the moral qualms. I would analogize it to people who are deeply troubled by institutionalized animal cruelty in industrial farming but still eat meat. Not sure what the answer is, but at a minimum I wish the weight of public opinion would push the League to do more on #2, god knows they've got the cash. It shouldn't take class-action lawsuits to force them to write the checks. The players union has been profoundly lousy about securing better long-term care, so there are many dirty hands in the picture.

Joined: 06/29/2010

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bronxblue

August 20th, 2015 at 10:41 PM ^

It's an interesting article because it goes to the heart of the health concerns regarding football, and I commend Borland for making the decision that is best for him.  But at the same time, at some stage in your life people need to start making decisions they can live with, and if that includes partaking in sports that others enjoy watching, I'm not sure why consumers should feel particularly bad.  We can go on about educational opportunities, poverty, misinformation, etc., but it's a bit insulting to the players (even at the collegiate level) to believe they aren't competing on their own accords.  Hell, a lot of people go into the armed services to get a chance at a better life, to go to college and learn useful skills, and virtually all must deal with the various service requirements that potentially put them in life-and-death situations.  I don't see people sermonizing about how those individuals don't understand the dangers of their decision and patronize them for making foolish choices.  If you don't want to watch football because you are bothered by the health risks to the players, then by all means do so.  But I'm not sure if an obvious pulling-your-collective-head-out-of-the-sand "oh yeah, those large men running into each other are probably injuring themselves in the long term" revelation should mean more than that.

Joined: 11/22/2008

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