From the cheap seats

“Jesus, Faulker! It’s just a game!”

That was a quote from the film “Meet the Parents.” A lot of people take games too seriously when they play. On the other hand, some don’t take sports events seriously enough. Then there are the people who are just a risk to another athlete’s safety.

I’m addressing the issue of the recent helmet-to-helmet controversy of the collegiate and professional football organizations.

The rough play of some of the professional athletes are based in their past. Many have used the excuse ‘that’s the way I was taught to play.’ I can understand the difficulty of changing a style of play or a game mentality.

If a golfer tried to change his/her style or swing at the professional level, it would definitely not have good results. But if Tiger Woods changed his swing, it would not affect the safety of Davis Love III (unless Love was standing in the woods at the time).

I’m all for the suspension and fining of professional football players that make helmet-to-helmet contact. Being taught a certain way is no excuse for endangering another man’s life.

The athletes (especially football players) do assume the risk of injury in a violent sport. There is no doubt that a 5’10″ 200 lbs. wide receiver understands the risk he assumes when matched up with a 6’5″ 275-300lbs. middle linebacker that will do anything to break up a play. That doesn’t mean that his life should be at risk.

Many football players have been injured. Some have even been permanently paralyzed from hits sustained in a game. From my personal knowledge, I do not know of any deaths in a game suffered from a hit.

A scenario keeps building in my mind that if the physicality of some players does not stop, then there could very well be a death on the field with millions of fans watching. Then where will the responsibility lie?

The player that made the hit will just say that he was doing his job. Would there be any legal recourse for his actions?

What would the commissioner’s stand on the situation be? A normal fine and suspension would not be enough.

If the players are going to maintain that the reason they make dangerous hits are because they were taught that way, then maybe the problem lies with the high school and middle school coaches or even pee-wee league coaches who aren’t even paid. These people are responsible for shaping a young man or woman’s mindset toward the game.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Nov 15 2002. Filed under Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry