Dec 06 2009

Things That Piss Me Off

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The NFL is giving a lot of lip service to reducing concussions, and the refs are definitely making more calls on gratuitous hits to the head of offensive skill players (although doing nothing about the every-single-play low-grade head-jarring of linemen that is causing post-retirement degenerative brain disorders). The fact that they allow the teevee broadcasts to glorify de-helmeting massive head-smashing hits in glorious super slow-motion as highlights indicates that they–i.e., the owners and the players’ union–don’t give a single flying fuck about head injury to players.

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9 comments

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1

drugmonkey

December 6, 2009 at 10:13 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

Nobody cares about the knuckle draggers, homesie.
2

prof-like substance

December 7, 2009 at 8:15 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

From the title, I thought this post was going to be 23 pages long.

For a long time, NFL players have simply been an entertainment product and not until recently has it been more and more obvious that there are long-term effects that the players and their families deal with. At the same time, acknowledging the older players has always been a bit of a taboo for the current players, probably because they don’t want to be faced with some of the realities of what the game can do to a body. If the NFL is serious about protecting the players, they are going to have to face this in a big way and the players union should be pushing hard on these issues in the new CBA.
3

Professor in Training

December 7, 2009 at 10:35 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

Protecting players? They already wear helmets and a ton of padding. Real football players in other countries don’t wear any protection at all. Wimpy bloody Americans.
4

microfool

December 7, 2009 at 11:18 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

PiT: If you don’t wear a helmet, you probably don’t hurt your head as much; thus, it wouldn’t be American football.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704402404574527881984299454.html
5

Comrade PhysioProf

December 7, 2009 at 11:51 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

Protecting players? They already wear helmets and a ton of padding.

It’s *because* of all the protective gear that head injury is such a big problem in American football. Helmets protect against scalp and skull injury, but do essentially nothing to diminish the relative motion between brain and skull that is the cause of concussion and cumulative brain injury. If it actually hurt like a motherfucker to smash heads, players would protect their heads instead of using them as battering rams.
6

Thomas Joseph

December 7, 2009 at 12:59 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

The fact that they allow the teevee broadcasts to glorify de-helmeting massive head-smashing hits in glorious super slow-motion as highlights indicates that they–i.e., the owners and the players’ union–don’t give a single flying fuck about head injury to players.

And yet, you obviously watch (probably a whole heck of a lot of) football. If it really pissed you off, to the point you would actually do something about it, then perhaps more of us would be convinced that the NFL is just giving lip service to the issue. As it is, you’re only giving lip service to the issue to.
7

Comrade PhysioProf

December 7, 2009 at 1:09 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

What the fuck would you know about what I do or don’t “do” about anyfuckingthing, asshole?
8

Thomas Joseph

December 7, 2009 at 1:21 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

What the fuck would you know about what I do or don’t “do” about anyfuckingthing, asshole?

I read all your jock-strap-sniffing Eagles crap on here. Certainly seems like you enjoy following the sport (which is what the NFL notices — the numbers).
9

Physiogroupie IV

December 7, 2009 at 2:22 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

Things that piss me off: Untouchable, non-tenure track research assistant professor/permanent fixture in the lab being a major pain in the butt.