|
|
|||
|
|||
|
|
Suicide by Quarterback - Football Players Dying Young Michael Arnold Glueck, M.D., and Robert J. Cihak, M.D., The Medicine Men It is not a widely disseminated, downloaded or discussed fact that the average life expectancy for all pro football players, including all positions and backgrounds, is 55 years. Several insurance carriers say it is 51 years. On September 24, Tampa Bay quarterback Chris Simms remained in a football game against Carolina even though he was short of breath, with fractured ribs and a ruptured spleen. He could have died! As of September 27, almost 400 NFL players were on the injured reserve or other unable-to-play lists. I got short of breath just counting. We've heard of suicide by cop but have never talked about suicide by quarterback (and all positions). This happens every football weekend, from Friday night light to Sunday afternoon and Monday night heavy. Has the game become too violent for its own good? How many more bodies and brains do we want to destroy? Do we really want to spoil the golden goose or, in this case, the golden lettered brown pigskin? Do we, as a nation, love violence so much that we will not make commonsense changes? We don't want to sissify the game but suggest we give pause and rethink our attitudes toward America's most popular sport. As players become bigger, stronger, faster and the helmets harder, the force with which they strike becomes increasingly extreme. A generation or two ago the tackles, hits and blocks were intended to stop the opposition. Now they are designed to separate the head, neck and arms from the body. We have returned to the ancient days of the Roman gladiators, when the maimed and comatose were carried off the field. What are the issues and what can we do to stop the cold brutality that steals 30 years from the average pro player's life? Let's never forget that these behaviors trickle down to our colleges, high schools and grade schools.
Story Continues Below
Weights and Drugs Suffice it here to note that if you start with a gigantic human being and add extensive weight training and anabolic steroids, you wind up with enormous muscle mass. Pairing this with violent hits leads to the tendons, ligaments and joints breaking down. This is why many retired players have trouble getting out of bed in the morning. Once the gladiators rode on horses. Now the players, some of whom weigh 375 pounds and run the 40 in 4.5 seconds, are the magnificent stallions. There needs to be more frequent drug testing and harsher penalties. If the Olympics, Women's tennis at the U.S. Open and the Kentucky Derby test winners, then so can the NFL. The League Ultimately, it is up to the league to control the sport. Since they know the fans are bloodthirsty – and more money is their goal – they are often lax with their discipline. When there are late and violent hits that knock players out of the game, the punishments should be rapid and proportionate.
The Referees Referees need to be more consistent. Sometimes they flag the defense for putting a pinkie on the QB and at other times overlook savage hits like the ones on Chris Simms. The Coaches We all know the coaches teach this stuff, so they need to be held more accountable by the league. Coach Jon Gruden said during his post-game news conference that Simms hurt his ribs early in the game. "He left the game. I don't know that it was because of his ribs, dehydration or both." Why didn't he know? He is the head coach and meat grinder. The Players It's all about being macho man. Perhaps when they learn that their lives are going to end sooner than most, they will pay attention. They should stop the jumping and hand-slapping when they knock someone silly. The old-timers wouldn't dishonor the game this way. The Rules You hate to fool with the rules, but maybe it's time. Currently, any two players who collaborate can, at any time, knock a player out of the game. The offending team gets 15 yards and the victim is out of the game for weeks, months or forever. The league should consider commensurately larger penalties (say, 25 yards) and immediate ejection. Penalties might include loss of possession or the awarding of points to the other team. The Fans Maybe we shouldn't clap and dance when we're shown the hardest hits on replay or sports highlight shows. Fans who pay hundreds of dollars for seats for one game and thousands for season tickets might ultimately get tired of watching third-string quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers during the Playoffs and Super Bowl.
The Media Maybe the media shouldn't replay the hardest hits thousands of times. They must think that we are all attention-deficit sadistic vampire bats. Their obsession with violence degrades everything they touch.
The Team Doctors Team doctors must remember that they are the athletes' main defense in today's win-at-all-costs society. There should be a national association of team physicians to explore these ethical issues and create standards. How about a "Physician Crew" of two or three non-team doctors at each game to make fit-for-duty or unfit-for-duty decisions independent of coaches and owners? Physicians should not succumb to the thrill of team victory and thereby put athletes at risk. Equipment Once an instrument of protection, the helmet is now a weapon of mass devastation. Spearing is banned, but the players have figured out other ways to dismember. We need new materials, such as a substance that protects but still has some give. Maybe a two-layered helmet that does both? If we fly to Jupiter, we can develop safer materials. The issue here is the life expectancy of a professional group, members of which compete, on average, for four years. That's why NFL stands for "Not For Long." Parents and younger players should take this message seriously. So, the next time a coach, with residual oatmeal for brains, tells your kid to take a "gut check" by playing injured and in pain, resist the temptation to hit him in the head with a helmet.
Editor's Note: Michael Arnold Glueck, M.D., wrote this week's commentary. Contact Drs. Glueck & Cihak by e-mail. Robert J. Cihak, M.D., is a senior fellow and board member of the Discovery Institute and a past president of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons. Michael Arnold Glueck, M.D., is a multiple-award-winning writer who comments on medical-legal issues and is a visiting fellow in economics and citizenship at the International Trade Education Foundation of the Washington International Trade Council.
Editor's note:
Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
Print Page 
Forward Page 
|
| All Rights Reserved © 2008 NewsMax.Com |