Junior Seau dead at 43. Sad words to read across the screen on a Wednesday night. Replace Junior’s name and insert any number of former NFL players who have died and they are words that have become all too real in the past few years.
After hearing of the passing of Junior and hearing so many former players, writers, TV analyst and radio hosts try to connect Junior’s death with his playing career, I began to wonder how many of those 32 young men who were selected in the first round of this year’s NFL draft were thinking about brain damage when their name was called. How many asked Czar Roger when they shook his hand (in whatever fashion, some with hugs and some with a handshake you would see between LeBron and Dwayne Wade on the sideline prior to tip off in Miami) if the NFL would take care of them in 20 years when they began experiencing depression and memory loss like so many before them? The answer is none. Not one single player. They were all thinking about how great their life was going to be playing a sport and being paid ten times as much as they would had they earned a job in their field of study. Each and every one of those players were thinking about the all mighty dollar and how they would spend it, not how they would cope with years of not knowing why they walked into a room. Or where they were going to get the gun that would eventually lead them to their final resting place.
I guess what I am trying to get at is, no one thinks about the future. We are a society that only thinks about the present. You cannot tell me that any player that has worn an NFL jersey was unaware of the potential life threatening injuries they could suffer from their line of work. I have heard a lot of folks talk about how we are naïve and foolish to think Junior’s death had nothing to do with him playing in the NFL. Well if so, I wonder if Junior would have had that boyish smile and be as happy as he was on his draft night had he known 20 some years later he would take his own life? I wonder if Jim McMahon would have worn those shades and done the Super Bowl Shuffle had he known he would later have to put his home address into his navigation system so he can find his way home.
We can’t blame the NFL, players must be accountable for their own actions and decisions. But what if we did blame the NFL? Could they turn around and sue every fan of every team who has ever been to a game or bought a jersey? If you stand by and watch someone beat up another person until they are dead and you do nothing to stop it and cheer on, aren’t you somewhat responsible for end result? Well if so, then I should be arrested and sent to prison just like you, because every time I see a big hit in the NFL the hair on the back of my neck stands up and I cheer in approval. And if the “innocent” football player who was hit later can’t remember his name, has trouble walking, or even takes his own life, should I be an accomplice?
Or better yet, since the NFL isn’t doing enough to follow these players after their career. The NFL should hire one person for every former NFL player and their job is to study them and babysit them the rest of their life. That way no one can say the NFL hasn’t done enough (imagine how low the unemployment rate would be if this were possible). This person would be with their assigned NFL player for the rest of their lives and have to monitor every single move and make sure they are given the proper post football care.
None of these ideas will work and none of them are feasible. So an alternative option is destroy football. Stop the sport so many love. Never play the game again. Stop the Saturday morning pee-wee football games, stop the Friday night high school showdowns in Little Town U.S.A., and stop the All-American Saturday afternoon games between the great colleges and universities across the country. And most importantly stop the Sunday tradition of watching some of the greatest athletes on earth battle on the gridiron. Instead our children can focus on the less fatal sports like baseball and basketball. Our homecoming king and queens can be crowned on a Tuesday at the big tennis match. Saturday afternoons will be spent running errands and cleaning around the house. And Sunday’s, those will be spent in the church and at your in-laws for dinner.
Sounds like a great plan. Our country will prosper, our children will be safe, and so many lives will be saved. What’s that Czar Roger? You don’t like that idea because then you won’t get to make your $20 million dollar yearly salary? I can’t hear you Mr. First Round Pick, did you say you don’t want to get an education and have to live a normal life working a regular nine to five job? I didn’t think so.
I don’t have the right answer to fix all of the NFL’s problems. But like I have always said, they (the players) know what they are getting themselves into. They signed up; they made the choice to live this life. Now they must deal with the very real and sometimes very tragic results.
This is article is written solely on the opinion of the author, Vaso Michels and does not represent the thoughts or the opinions of ESPN Sports Radio or Crossroads Communications. You can hear Vaso, every weeknight on ESPN Sports Radio 92.7 FM/AM 1300 or online at www.espnsportsradio.com
After hearing of the passing of Junior and hearing so many former players, writers, TV analyst and radio hosts try to connect Junior’s death with his playing career, I began to wonder how many of those 32 young men who were selected in the first round of this year’s NFL draft were thinking about brain damage when their name was called. How many asked Czar Roger when they shook his hand (in whatever fashion, some with hugs and some with a handshake you would see between LeBron and Dwayne Wade on the sideline prior to tip off in Miami) if the NFL would take care of them in 20 years when they began experiencing depression and memory loss like so many before them? The answer is none. Not one single player. They were all thinking about how great their life was going to be playing a sport and being paid ten times as much as they would had they earned a job in their field of study. Each and every one of those players were thinking about the all mighty dollar and how they would spend it, not how they would cope with years of not knowing why they walked into a room. Or where they were going to get the gun that would eventually lead them to their final resting place.
I guess what I am trying to get at is, no one thinks about the future. We are a society that only thinks about the present. You cannot tell me that any player that has worn an NFL jersey was unaware of the potential life threatening injuries they could suffer from their line of work. I have heard a lot of folks talk about how we are naïve and foolish to think Junior’s death had nothing to do with him playing in the NFL. Well if so, I wonder if Junior would have had that boyish smile and be as happy as he was on his draft night had he known 20 some years later he would take his own life? I wonder if Jim McMahon would have worn those shades and done the Super Bowl Shuffle had he known he would later have to put his home address into his navigation system so he can find his way home.
We can’t blame the NFL, players must be accountable for their own actions and decisions. But what if we did blame the NFL? Could they turn around and sue every fan of every team who has ever been to a game or bought a jersey? If you stand by and watch someone beat up another person until they are dead and you do nothing to stop it and cheer on, aren’t you somewhat responsible for end result? Well if so, then I should be arrested and sent to prison just like you, because every time I see a big hit in the NFL the hair on the back of my neck stands up and I cheer in approval. And if the “innocent” football player who was hit later can’t remember his name, has trouble walking, or even takes his own life, should I be an accomplice?
Or better yet, since the NFL isn’t doing enough to follow these players after their career. The NFL should hire one person for every former NFL player and their job is to study them and babysit them the rest of their life. That way no one can say the NFL hasn’t done enough (imagine how low the unemployment rate would be if this were possible). This person would be with their assigned NFL player for the rest of their lives and have to monitor every single move and make sure they are given the proper post football care.
None of these ideas will work and none of them are feasible. So an alternative option is destroy football. Stop the sport so many love. Never play the game again. Stop the Saturday morning pee-wee football games, stop the Friday night high school showdowns in Little Town U.S.A., and stop the All-American Saturday afternoon games between the great colleges and universities across the country. And most importantly stop the Sunday tradition of watching some of the greatest athletes on earth battle on the gridiron. Instead our children can focus on the less fatal sports like baseball and basketball. Our homecoming king and queens can be crowned on a Tuesday at the big tennis match. Saturday afternoons will be spent running errands and cleaning around the house. And Sunday’s, those will be spent in the church and at your in-laws for dinner.
Sounds like a great plan. Our country will prosper, our children will be safe, and so many lives will be saved. What’s that Czar Roger? You don’t like that idea because then you won’t get to make your $20 million dollar yearly salary? I can’t hear you Mr. First Round Pick, did you say you don’t want to get an education and have to live a normal life working a regular nine to five job? I didn’t think so.
I don’t have the right answer to fix all of the NFL’s problems. But like I have always said, they (the players) know what they are getting themselves into. They signed up; they made the choice to live this life. Now they must deal with the very real and sometimes very tragic results.
This is article is written solely on the opinion of the author, Vaso Michels and does not represent the thoughts or the opinions of ESPN Sports Radio or Crossroads Communications. You can hear Vaso, every weeknight on ESPN Sports Radio 92.7 FM/AM 1300 or online at www.espnsportsradio.com
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