Football Killed Tyler Sash
Noted excellent author and horrible pun enthusiast Adam Jacobi has a piece up over at BHGP discussing dead-at-27 former Iowa Safety Tyler Sash's recent diagnosis with CTE.
http://www.blackheartgoldpants.com/2016/1/27/10837558/tyler-sash-iowa-c…
The diagnosis is, sadly, no surprise. Sash's fall after football was swift and pronounced, and his arrest in 2014 typified the erratic behavior of those suffering from the disease. Its advancement in his young age, however, is more of a surprise, if only because researchers said they had only seen one other similar case.
Sash's death isn't a problem specific to Iowa football, of course. The University of Iowa was Sash's home for just four of his 16 years of playing football, and as Marc Morehouse wrote in 2014, the University of Iowa has a substantial, multifaceted concussion protocol. There's no reason to think the school came up short in its medical treatment of Sash.
That shouldn't reassure you; it should terrify you. Tyler Sash's life and death as a football player aren't an aberration from protocol; they are part of the protocol. Football killed Tyler Sash.
I agree with Jacobi's premise that other sports have often struggled with the danger they impose - his NASCAR description is apt. As hockey discusses banning fighting, I think the answer is they must. Sorry to share a downer, but this is well done and quite the rejoiner to Harbaugh's "Football is worth it" piece from earlier this year.
January 27th, 2016 at 11:51 AM ^
January 27th, 2016 at 11:54 AM ^
And as more information comes out regarding the exact risks (like this) that may recalibrate who plays and who doesnt - much like boxing faded from the national scene, will football?
I know my (future) kids won't be allowed to play tackle football.
January 27th, 2016 at 12:00 PM ^
Boxing didnt fade because of CTE. It faded because of PPV and fixing.
January 27th, 2016 at 12:03 PM ^
Floyd Mayweather. Question - what is more boring than a Floyd Mayweather fight?
If your answer was "nothing" you are correct.
January 27th, 2016 at 12:04 PM ^
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January 27th, 2016 at 12:59 PM ^
Mayweather broke records because he never fought an elite fighter when that fighter was in his prime. He either got them on the way up or when their skills had eroded. Mayweather's greatest "skill" was picking opponents.
January 27th, 2016 at 2:16 PM ^
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January 27th, 2016 at 1:05 PM ^
Good boxing isn't always fun to watch. Thus why I don't watch boxing because it seems that good boxing is boring to me.
(Meant for ijohnb but whatever.)
January 27th, 2016 at 12:06 PM ^
less talented fighters pawing at each other for 12 rds but to each his own. some of us actually enjoy the sweet science. hell, i enjoy elite defense in any sport.
January 27th, 2016 at 12:10 PM ^
boxing, and I enjoy good boxers. Floyd Mayweather mastered compubox and I guess that is impressive on its own terms but I have never been floored by Mayweather in any regard. Boxers who see actually fighting as part of the sport are not less talented, they are more or less just boxing in the spirit of the sport instead of playing keep away and mastering exactly what kind of contact needs to be made, however trivial, for compubox to register it as a landed punch.
Go back and watch Oscar in his prime, watch Manny in his prime, watch Cotto v. Magarito. Those guys are extremely talented they just actually want to fight instead of just accumulated "connects."
January 27th, 2016 at 12:15 PM ^
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January 27th, 2016 at 12:25 PM ^
Ehhh people often say things like that but while getting punched in the face a lot might make it more exciting for fans, doesn't make you a better fighter. Like people would always talk about how great of a warrior Arturo Gatti is because he's getting beat up half the fight and may just land a flurry to end you in the later rounds. That's cool for some people but i'm not that expressed by that. Getting punched a bunch of times without falling isn't as beautiful to watch as making people look stupid swinging at air and getting counterpunched, IMO. People wanna see Rocky reincarnated for some reason lol. The point is to hit and not get hit.
January 27th, 2016 at 2:18 PM ^
Also the reason I think Muhammad Ali may be the most overrated athlete of all time. I'm not a boxing fan, so maybe I'm way off here, but from the clips I've seen of him fighting, his greatest skill was simply taking a beating and subsequently wearing his opponent down until the opponent had nothing left in the tank.
January 27th, 2016 at 2:29 PM ^
was a very unconventional fighter. Probably his biggest strength was his ability to generate tremendous power with very compact punches(essentially wrist punches), and to connect with solid punches from odd, contorted angles when it didn't look possible. I can see why you would feel how you feel if you are just relying on certain clips, but Ali never allowed figthers to get comfortable in a fight, the fight was always on his terms and those terms varied from opponent to opponent. You are right, he was not the most skilled fighter ever to live, but he certainly is in the top 5 in GOAT discussion.
January 27th, 2016 at 4:33 PM ^
That perception may be due to most of his biggest fights coming after he was 30 when he needed the somewhat unfortunate skill of being able to take punishment; he was fighting some of the best fighters of all time at that point too.
We didn't get to see Ali from '67-'69 when he would have been at his peak. I personally wouldn't regard him as overrated at all, he just didn't fight his best competition in the mid sixties when he was almost impossible to hit and could hit anyone from anywhere.
January 27th, 2016 at 12:08 PM ^
I may be in the minority, but I actually like Floyd Mayweather the boxer.
January 27th, 2016 at 12:38 PM ^
January 27th, 2016 at 12:47 PM ^
will fight again. If Pacquio beats Bradley, they can spin it that he is healthy now and should have another crack. Floyd can sell it as his run at beating Marciano's record. They won't be able to charge any $100 for it but I don't think a rematch there is inconceivable.
Even if it is not Pacquio, Mayweather will get that 50th win one way or another. Within a year I would guess.
January 27th, 2016 at 2:19 PM ^
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January 27th, 2016 at 1:22 PM ^
"M00N" is answer 1b.
January 27th, 2016 at 12:03 PM ^
A popular premise is that the US doesn't dominate world soccer because our best athletes aren't playing soccer. Our best "normal" sized people are CBs, Safeties, RBs, etc. (Our "Freaks" are in the NBA or linemen).
Is boxing even on the radar for most young athletes? I'd argue it's not, especially compared to where it was 100 years ago. My point was less about TV dollars than about the athletic pipeline - I didn't communicate that well.
January 27th, 2016 at 12:06 PM ^
It's not on the radar because you can't see it.
I don't have cable. I watch the NFL every weekend. I haven't seen a boxing match in years.
January 27th, 2016 at 12:11 PM ^
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January 27th, 2016 at 12:12 PM ^
is going to fight Triple G in the next 6 months or so. If you are going to see a boxing match this year or this decade, that may be the one to see.
January 27th, 2016 at 12:45 PM ^
January 27th, 2016 at 12:53 PM ^
Come on?! Didn't GGG step aside so Canelo could fight Cotto? That is getting ridiculous.
January 27th, 2016 at 2:20 PM ^
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January 27th, 2016 at 12:46 PM ^
January 27th, 2016 at 1:01 PM ^
The plan was for them to fight probably in September after taking a fight before that. More build-up time.
January 27th, 2016 at 1:24 PM ^
Boxing has been completely left in the dust by MMA as far as the younger generation goes. For the first time in the history of MMA the "new breed" of young fighters coming up arent transplants from other disciplines (ie boxing, wrestling, jiu-jitsu) but rather kids who have grown up watching and training the sport. Doesnt hurt that boxing is effectively gone from TV and the UFC is airing live on prime time on Fox every month.
January 27th, 2016 at 1:37 PM ^
I'm confident that any losses in boxing participation has been picked up by the UFC, a sport that appears far more brutal.
January 27th, 2016 at 1:48 PM ^
MMA just pushed it down faster.
January 27th, 2016 at 2:52 PM ^
A popular premise is that the US doesn't dominate world soccer because our best athletes aren't playing soccer.
And it's a very poor premise. Spain and Germany haven't recently won World Cups because they were full of LeBron-type athletes.
Our problems in international soccer have nothing to do with athleticism - we're actually one of the most athletic teams around - and everything to do with a so-so skill level, which is a result of weak youth development programs.
January 28th, 2016 at 12:10 AM ^
US kids want to be football, basketball, and baseball players first, so more focus and do that, thats why we're good at those sports and not soccer. Just like how in Jamaica every single kid wants to be usain bolt and every kid is in a track club so they churn out top sprinting talent every year.
January 28th, 2016 at 8:56 AM ^
No - this is the very argument I am contesting.
We do not have a shortage of soccer players. Participation is huge. Nor do we lack quality athletes among that group. What we lack is high-quality youth development, which leads to our players having a lower skill level than they otherwise could have.
January 27th, 2016 at 2:12 PM ^
I watched Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Ken Norton, Leon Spinks, and Tommy Hearns on network TV as a kid. So did everyone else.
Now you have to pay to see fighters that rise to their heights and so the mass market is gone.
January 27th, 2016 at 12:16 PM ^
Boxing's light was shaded by the rise of the UFC an even more brutal sport. Looks like ithe future is bright for rugby.
January 27th, 2016 at 12:58 PM ^
January 27th, 2016 at 1:04 PM ^
And so am I, or anyone making either choice--if my son wants to play football I will have not one seconds hesitation about letting him do so.
January 27th, 2016 at 1:48 PM ^
It's your choice, but I am so glad my sons played high school football. The key is to practice and drill safe (non-head) tackling. If they hit the way they do in the NFL I would agree with you -- that is insane. But you can play pretty tough high school ball with safe tackling techniques. My older son just finished his senior year starting at middle linebacker and running back (like his father). He really brought the wood on defense and was a slower version of Deveon (truck-style RB). He never had a concussion and had precisely one hit all season that concerned me. Meanwhile, as the Harbaughs have argued, tackle football is the best thing for young men. It demands it all -- courage, strength, brains, passion, perseverance, teamwork, aggression. We would all say that football was the best of many great experiences he has had in high school.
January 27th, 2016 at 5:39 PM ^
I'm 35, but played throughout the 90's. Played tight end and linebacker. Never, ever led with my head. Why? I was watching live when Dennis Byrd was paralyzed when I was a kid (before I began playing tackle), and it scarred me for life/made me move my head out of the way when going into contact. Believe it or not, at least through the high school level, a player *can* effectively and violently play the game of football by blocking with, and leading with when tackling, his shoulder instead of his head.
January 27th, 2016 at 11:54 AM ^
Sorry, you're wrong. Tackle football should be outlawed up until the age of majority. Minors should not be allowed to make this kind of decision. Flag football should replace tackle football until at least 16.
Hockey does not require 3/4 of its players to block each other head-to-head each play. The analogy holds no water. Or ice.
January 27th, 2016 at 12:05 PM ^
In hockey people get slammed into the boards when they're traveling 40 mph on the ice. I saw a guy get knocked out my first game at Yost. I saw somewhere that womens soccer had more concussions than football. You shouldn't ban something just because you yourself don't want to do it.
January 27th, 2016 at 12:12 PM ^
40 Mph? Um yeah we're fast but thats like non-human fast. I think during the all star challange the fastest a guy gets traveling during the speed skate is like 20-25 and that's without players in his way. Hockey's concussion rate isn't very high. You're more likely to have a seperated shoulder or something else.
January 27th, 2016 at 12:55 PM ^
re: soccer, this is why headers are banned by US Soccer in youth leagues for kids 13 and younger.
January 27th, 2016 at 12:10 PM ^
People get hurt in football. It's the risk you sign up for. I got my knee fucked up pretty badly in junior high football.
This is a ridiculous suggestion. Outlawed. Don't play if you don't want to take a risk or hold your kids back from doing what they want to pursue.
I'd argue that kids who do not know how to tackle or take hits are in more danger of getting rocked once they reach this golden age you propose.
I'll listen to making it age 10 or 11 for tackle. But eliminating middle school football is ridiculous and not going to happen.
January 27th, 2016 at 12:12 PM ^
Street cred! Just bustin your chops...
January 27th, 2016 at 12:48 PM ^
I stopped for two reasons.
One was they were eliminating TEs by switching to a spread offense once I moved over to the HS in 10th grade and two, anxiety over joining a new team and being lost in the shuffle. Seriously.
I don't really know if I regret stopping or not. I'd say I don't, because I made a bunch of friends roadtripping to games and being part of a student section that gained an interesting reputation (which will be killed once the MHSAA adopts the rules of the wussified Wisconsin association).