OT: Chris Borland ESPN Article
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.
August 20th, 2015 at 3:46 PM ^
August 20th, 2015 at 3:49 PM ^
is making anyone play.
August 20th, 2015 at 4:04 PM ^
August 20th, 2015 at 4:06 PM ^
College kids aren't forced too though which is what he's alluding to in his post. A 19 year old can just say that he doesn't want to play and that's that.
August 20th, 2015 at 4:25 PM ^
playing devil's advocate here. I'm sure there are plenty of 19 year olds out there that wouldn't be in college if not for football. So I guess they could decide that they don't want to play and instead go home and work construction or in a factory. So yes, I think quite a few kids feel a bit forced to play football in order to be able to attend a 4 year school.
August 20th, 2015 at 4:48 PM ^
August 20th, 2015 at 4:59 PM ^
If they think that they should work in construction, then they should do it. Life is about making choices. Football is violent. Not watching people voluntarily playing in college because you have a problem with the fact that these people who are voluntarily playing may suffer an injury sounds like overkill.
August 21st, 2015 at 5:32 AM ^
August 20th, 2015 at 4:46 PM ^
August 20th, 2015 at 10:34 PM ^
But to be honest, you can sustain debilitating injuries playing a number of sports. Soccer players get concussions, torn ACLs, etc. Basketball players can destroy knees and feet. Wrestling can grind down your shoulders and back, lead to eating disorders, etc. Hell, cheerleaders have more horrific injuries than football players do most years. Football is definitely dangerous, but poor parenting styles and the dangers of sport are distinct.
Personally, I think football will need to address its pronounced safety issues, but by the time people get to college I'm fairly certain most of those players are doing to voluntarily.
August 20th, 2015 at 5:36 PM ^
August 20th, 2015 at 8:49 PM ^
has to stay to get the NFL. That is one hell of a long shot to pin one's hopes on and is in fact racist. How about they get good grades, go to college and get a job? Certainly not easy but much more likely than making it to the NFL
August 20th, 2015 at 3:54 PM ^
I'm cool with Borland and others talking candidly about the potential hazards of playing football.
August 21st, 2015 at 3:06 AM ^
by Steve Fainaru and Mark Fainaru-Wada. It is a long read, and it is not easily summarized in a TLDR kinda way. The topic is confusing for a lot of people, and while the authors clearly have a position on the matter, in this piece they seem mostly interested in the complexities of the issue. In my opinion it is one of ESPN's better efforts, and definitely worth reading.
The authors represent Borland's nuanced reasons for quitting football and his ambivalence toward his own notoriety. Borland clearly does not hate the sport; instead he seems concerned about its potential repercussions on the rest of his life. The reasons he gives for leaving football echo the reasons that many people cite when they choose a 9-5 job over a high-paid position at an investment bank. Outside of football we call this "work-life balance" and there is no shame—either way—in choosing whatever path feels right.
August 20th, 2015 at 3:55 PM ^
August 20th, 2015 at 4:55 PM ^
I think Borland misses the point if he says that football is dangerous, therefore people should not do it. The point is that while car driving has risks, I'll insist that my kids learn how to drive properly and with due regard for the well-being of others and themselves.
And I'll insist that my builders are bonded, insured, and reputable. I don't want them getting hurt or cutting corners.
Similarly, in risky sports so long as people are educated on the risks, and coaches are working to teach the safest possible techniques, I've got no problem with athletes willingly participating in them.
(I've done martial arts and wrestling, and there are lots of ways to get hurt really badly if you don't do them correctly. And, as Borland might observe, even risks if you do do them correctly. I'd at least like to mitigate the risks in all sports.)
August 20th, 2015 at 5:31 PM ^
This is so simplistic and the fact that it has upvotes makes me sad about the lack of crtitical thinking and logic. People are responding to this post like I want to ban football, I don't, turning away from the game would be a personal choice and I don't see the players as slaves, though I do think college athletes should be paid, thats just a different issue.
If someone gets hurt building a house it is an accident, not a basic reality of every single action that goes into building a house. Same with driving a car, it comes with risks but the risks are a result of an accident, not a guarantee every time I get in a car that there will be a crash. That is Borlands point that I wanted to see discussion on. Football is pure violence, every play, that is the base of the game, injuries aren't an accident they are a guarenteed byproduct. Long term head injuries from more minor impacts, which we are just starting to understand, will occur from every play.
Not to mention a house is necessary for me to lead a happy and healthy life, a car is necessary for me to get to work, there is a risk reward balance that I make in those decisions. I don't like how little we pay people who work on a farm but I still need to eat fruits and vegetables to live and don't have a plot of land to grow my own. For me as a spectator, football is just entertainment, there is no need for it, if something else actually important in my life happens I skip it. So the reward of being entertained may not be worth supporting what is inherintly a gladiator sport. It is a personal choice but I think one all fans should consider, that is what I am trying to convey.
August 20th, 2015 at 5:39 PM ^
Yet, you are on here pontificating about the moral ramifications of football.
August 20th, 2015 at 5:49 PM ^
August 20th, 2015 at 7:42 PM ^
you are not exactly Sherlock Holmes.
August 20th, 2015 at 7:15 PM ^
August 20th, 2015 at 7:56 PM ^
conscience that is irksome. Just stop watching and if/when you do decide to reconcile your actions w/your conscience we really don't need to know cause we don't give a fuck.
August 20th, 2015 at 10:11 PM ^
August 20th, 2015 at 3:59 PM ^
August 20th, 2015 at 3:59 PM ^
Everyone knows football isn't 100 percent safe. Just like hockey, soccer, boxing, lacrosse etc. you can suffer injuries. People who play it know that but like the thrill and fun of it more than the risk.
August 20th, 2015 at 4:08 PM ^
Ourt great-grandfathers were questioning the sport's brutality as well. Football has always been a nasty, brutish sport. It hasn't changed. However, some in society have in regards to concern over health. That's fine.I have no issue in watching the sport so long as efforts are being made to make it as safe as humanly possible.
I do wonder why no one asks the same questions of MMA, boxing,NASCAR, hockey, and even soccer. Concussions and physical deterioration are problems in all those sports. Obviously, there are differences in extent of the damage vis a vis football, but they are still there.
To extend this to beyond sports. our entertainment industry has beern plagued by early deaths for the past 50 years. Many of our culture icons have died early from self-destructive behaviors. Why is that and why is no oen questioning the pursuit of fame in acting and music? If you look at the deaths and destroyed lives of those in the entertainment industry it begs to be examined much closer. When a sizable portion of the most successful people in an industry or field die early that should raise some eyebrows. There is something amiss in our entertainment industry.
The point is that football is scarcely alone in having a serious problem with long term harm or death coming to it's participants. If we as a society really and truly care about the people who entertain us we should perhaps look beyond the narrow confine of a single sport and analyze our culture as a whole.
August 20th, 2015 at 5:39 PM ^
August 20th, 2015 at 7:00 PM ^
August 20th, 2015 at 7:41 PM ^
How can you complain when you are on a board dedicated mostly to a college football team?
Some high schools have shooting clubs. Others have soccer and hockey teams, both of which can be detrimental to a teenager's health.
Your position is selective and hypocritical. You are criticizing a sport whilst openly supporting it. That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.
August 20th, 2015 at 7:51 PM ^
Hunkering down on the "Love It or Leave It" school of thought so you don't have to go blow for blow with actual points. How effing lazy.
August 20th, 2015 at 7:54 PM ^
I think you just want to get to the blowin, Ronnie
August 20th, 2015 at 7:52 PM ^
or is it Ron?
August 20th, 2015 at 4:12 PM ^
They always have, and always will. If gladiatorial combat to the death was still legal, 100k seat arenas would be selling out and the PPV money would be huge. And there would be no shortage of people training to fight.
August 20th, 2015 at 4:30 PM ^
August 20th, 2015 at 4:19 PM ^
running full speed and smashing into someone else who is running full speed could potentially cause health problems?
August 20th, 2015 at 5:10 PM ^
People aren't suprised by the immediate health problems, it the long term brain damage that people were not aware of.
August 20th, 2015 at 6:32 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
August 20th, 2015 at 7:51 PM ^
Now go.
August 20th, 2015 at 4:22 PM ^
As long as everyone who is saying nobody is making anyone play is also cool with things like prostitution being legal then I don't disagree. If you actually read the article Borland never says anything about telling anybody to not play. He wants the NFL to stop covering things up and wants there to be an honest discussion about the reality of the sport but he doesn't advocate banning it. I just think it is a discussion worth having.
If people want to play and watch football that is fine, I'm not trying to ban it either but people talk about the NFL in the US the most because it is the biggest sport, that isn't that hard to figure out. Boxing has mostly died as a sport, MMA is mostly a niche sport that is still only on PPV. The NFL makes 10 billion dollars a year, and thousands of young kids with still developing brains play it every day. Slightly different.
August 20th, 2015 at 4:34 PM ^
As long as the prostitution doesn't involve people forced into it, I'm perfectly fine with it being legal and giving those who participate a safe way to seek help when they are wronged. Then again, I'm also for decriminalization of most drugs.
As long as people are informed of the consequences of using drugs, sex for money, and playing dangerous sports, I think they should have the right as an adult to make that choise for themselves.
August 20th, 2015 at 7:35 PM ^
Needs a lot more upvotes.
August 20th, 2015 at 7:50 PM ^
Soak it up
August 20th, 2015 at 9:11 PM ^
Informing participants is the crux of this issue to me. Data is available to be distributed regarding potential links between subconcussive trauma and long-term neural changes. If this were actually elucidated (and not actively covered up by the NFL, from which most of the data is driven), we'd hopefully avoid future Borland-like cases where someone has dedicated his life to a sport, only to realize that after X amount of years, the risk was ultimately not worth it.
Informing first. Participating while understanding the risk of playing compared to not playing.
August 20th, 2015 at 9:56 PM ^
This is a really naive worldview, but yet receives upvotes.
There are many reasons why (see http://www.educating-voices.com/why-prostitution-should-not-be-legalize… for example) legalizing prostitution would make society much worse, mostly for women.
August 21st, 2015 at 9:45 AM ^
August 20th, 2015 at 10:31 PM ^
I generally agree that adult prostitution should be legal, but it's a tough call. If you're interested, there was a recent public radio show on it,
http://onpoint.wbur.org/2015/08/13/sex-work-amnesty-international-decriminalization
I recommend you listen to the whole 47 minutes, and I generally came away from it thinking legalization would be worth exploring on a legal basis.
But if you're pressed for time, just listen to the last 5 minutes. There are two callers -- one who sounds a bit unhinged (which worried me about the type of "johns" these legal sex workers attract, which I hadn't given much thought), and another who makes similar points in a much more rational and thoughtful way --- it gave me pause.
August 20th, 2015 at 4:37 PM ^
And of course prostitution should be legal.
August 20th, 2015 at 4:49 PM ^
Many of them will die because of self-destructive habits. Why not mention this?
Why are people just accepting the deaths of Amy Whinehouses, Philip Seymour Hoffmans, and Kurt Cobains? Why do we not ask ourselves "What's the Matter with Entertainers?".
No one bothers to question the lifestyle of those in the entertainment industry. Perhaps it's time that we do considering that so many kids idolize them.
August 20th, 2015 at 5:09 PM ^
God this is stupid. Nothing about singing or acting or dancing is causing an overdose, drugs do and while entertainers do drugs correlation is not cuasation. Brain trauma from direct contact to the head repeatedly over a decade or more is directly related to playing football. Fame might be a contributing cause to someone using drugs but it is not a direct action, just completely different things and you know that. But being snarky and stupid is more fun than making a reasoned response.
August 20th, 2015 at 5:37 PM ^
It's been known for 100 years that football puts people's health at risk. It was nearly banned in the first decade of the century. Yet you have this moral epiiphany where now your conscious haunts you like the Ghost of Christmas Past. Bla, bla, bla.
If you ever had any analytical skill you'd see how preposterous your post is. Football is dangerous. Humans need water to survive. These are things we have known for a long time.
The irony of this is that your handle is that of an implement that was designed to kill people.