On Sunday October 17, over ten professional football players were helped off the field because they had all received concussions or other head related injuries (Canfora).
An injury can occur at any time of day, walking across the street, going up stairs, or in a contact sport like football. Many people receive injuries when they participate in football. An assortment of injuries can occur: such as, strained muscles, torn ligaments, broken bones, or at the worst, spinal and cranial injuries.
Lately, the biggest worry has been concussions. Concussions can be caused by the jarring of the brain which doesn’t have to come from big hits, it can come from repetitive little hits and can lead to unconsciousness, dementia, or at worst, death. This injury is predominately occurring in football. People are now trying their best to prevent these potentially deadly injuries from occurring.
Recently the NFL has made the decision to punish players who commit helmet-to-helmet hits or big hits, in an attempt to prevent injuries such as neck injuries or concussions. After that injury ridden Sunday, the NFL acted immediately. The Vice President of Operations for the NFL, Ray Anderson, stated that they were concerned and the old fundamental way of wrapping up has faded away and the new thing is just blowing people up (Twentyman).
Translated as, the old way of wrapping your arms around somebody and running through has faded away and the new thing is just to hit them as hard as humanly possible with as little form as possible. They feel as if the hitting nowadays has gotten out of hand. The NFL has now made all helmet-to-helmet contact illegal along with “malicious” hits. The players who commit these hits will now be fined heavily or even suspended for their actions.
The Essay on Nfl History Professional Football
The Beginning of the N. F. The year was 1920 and pro-football was in a state of confusion. The three main problems that led to all the confusion were, salaries rising, players jumping from team to team and the use of players still enrolled in college. So, on August 20, 1920, a group of men representing the four current pro teams met. When the day was done the American Professional Football ...
An assortment of players have already been punished for their once “legal” hits. The Pittsburgh Steelers’ James Harrison was fined $75,000 that weekend for a hit on the Browns’ Mohamed Massaquoi, a play that would have normally just moved on to the next is now costing this player 75 grand! Brandon Merriweather and Dunta Robinson were also charged $50,000 apiece for their hits performed that weekend (Twentyman).
And many more will continue to be penalized because of this new rule. These players have been taught a certain way on how to hit and tackle; it cannot be expected for these players to change what they have done for most of their lives overnight. This rule now has many NFL players, mostly defensive, outraged. When the rule first came out and the Pittsburgh Steelers’ James Harrison was fined his first time for $75,000, he threatened retirement because the NFL is no longer going to allow him to play football the way he has played for the majority of his life.
Though this rule may seem a bit skewed, there is purpose. The NFL’s Ray Anderson stated, “We’re certainly concerned” (Twentyman).
Safety is definitely their major concern and in this modern society any precaution will be taken to help prevent injury of any sort.
It has been said by those behind the creation of the rule that concussions played an important role in the decision. After over ten NFL players had been given concussions or other head injuries on Sunday, October 17 by big or helmet-to-helmet hits, the players of the NFL had sealed their own fate, a fate of a more softened league and less of what they signed up for. One of the big-whigs behind the league, Ray Anderson, claimed that “It seemed like every time you turned around; there was another player on the ground for an extended period” (Maske).
The Essay on Player Positions in Football Game
In football game, each player on a team is assigned to different position on the field. A football team on the field is consists of one goal keeper and other ten players with different position. Each position has different area and different responsibility in the game. With different responsibility and different area to play, each position in football game is also requires different ability to ...
These guys don’t want to be responsible for any more injuries than they have already been, and they will take any sort of precaution necessary to do it.
Another recurring argument behind the recent rules against helmet-to-helmet and big hits have been to prevent neck injuries. Anderson also stated that, “We don’t want another Darryl Stingley on one of our fields” (Maske).
Darryl Stingley was a wide receiver for the New England Patriots who broke his neck when hit by the Oakland Raiders safety Jack Tatum during a game in 1978 which left him a quadriplegic; he spent the rest of his life in a wheelchair. Stingley died in 2007 at the age of 55 (Maske).
That hit was legal under the rule of that time, which was a big and helmet-to-helmet hit which would have probably gotten him suspended today. A major goal of this is to also help prevent serious neck injuries and other life altering and shortening injuries from occurring.
Though this recently established rule may have good intentions to help slow the head and neck injuries dished out in football, it has no place at the professional level, but it does have a place at the collegiate level and below. At those stages of the game, the players have not committed their lives as young adults to football, and shouldn’t have to put the rest of their life on the line in YMCA football, junior high, high school, or even college football.
Nobody is forced to play in the NFL. The pro football players of today play the game for the love of it, oh, and who can forget the millions of dollars they get paid to do it. They are all also well aware of the injuries at risk in the sport they play, it’s not as if when they get hurt they are going to be super surprised that they did. And, those injuries that they might suffer from, might not even be caused from a helmet-to-helmet, or big hit. Injuries occur all over the football field; such as a torn ACL or MCL from the twisting of a knee wrong, which could be career ending. It is extremely biased to say that all injuries on the football field occur from helmet-to-helmet, or big hits.
This new rule also ruins the game of professional football. Even in the 1970s, people were trying to slow the game. The excitement of the game- also violence-was at its peak then. With teams such as the Oakland Raiders in the 70s, consisting of some of the most violent players in the game such as: Jack Tatum and George Atkinson, there was never a dull moment. Sure there were many injuries on the field but, pro football is not all about the players, it’s about the fans and overall revenue that can be gained and a football game with big hits will always make more money than one without.
The Report on Accidents In Hockey Injuries Players Injury
Accidents in Hockey Accidents can and do happen anywhere, anytime to anyone. This statement is very true when dealing with a physical contact sport like hockey. There is a certain amount of risk involved in playing any sport. When an injury occurs, it inflicts tremendous hardship on the injured person, the team and the parents a swell. Hockey is a very popular and fun game to play (it is now ...
The games themselves, nevertheless, will suffer from these “cut backs” on excitement with “cut backs” on revenue, but the highlight reels are suffering too. Now it is also illegal for the NFL to advertise using these now illegal hits. “We glorify these hits and the NFL profits from them said a two-time pro-bowler and ESPN analyst” (Thomas), the players and fans know it, it’s just the executives that don’t. The NFL will now be suffering slightly because of a poor decision in the rule book.
The offense now has an advantage on the defense because of this new rule. The defensive players now have to think about every move they make. Now, say Ray Lewis is going in for a tackle, he now has to think about how he is going to hit the ball carrier rather than just doing it, because he runs the risk of getting suspended or fined if he doesn’t go about it in the right manner, which might give up the tackle. This will occur much more and in much more dire situations on the field, in the end resulting in higher scoring games which is not always good. The reason a touchdown is so exciting is because there are usually two to four scored in an exciting game by each team. If the games end up getting too high scoring a touchdown might end up being as common as a lay-in in the NBA.
Though football is a violent game, not all helmet-to-helmet hits are intentional. “When a defensive player goes in for a tackle, he lowers his body out of proper form and the ball carrier gets lower to avoid the hit and so despite the best efforts of both players, helmets will collide” (Canfora), this just goes to show that no matter what rule is made, there will always be helmets hitting in football even when the players are trying to avoid it.
The Essay on Helmet to Helmet Rule Change the Game
... of the game. But we must ensure that players follow rules designed to reduce the risk of injury. Enforcing rules on illegal hits to ... The recent story in the NFL is helmet to helmet hits on defenseless player. The league committees are trying to make the league ... sissy league. Tackling is part of football. When a defender tackles a ball carrier helmet to helmet hit well happen. It’s not unavoidable ...
On the football field, many injuries occur. By establishing this new rule against helmet-to-helmet and big hits, only a portion of injuries will be eliminated from the game. To eliminate all injuries from football is to eliminate the game itself, and is that the goal of the new rule here?
