Concussions in Football

763 Words2 Pages

Concussions are a problem. They have been around for a very long time, and people have been aware of them, but been unaware of the damage that can happen. Since the beginnings of the game of football, there have been people ‘getting their bell rung.’ It’s been recent we’ve begun to understand the seriousness of football-related head injuries, such as concussions.
A group of more than 4,400 retired NFL players have agreed to a settlement of $765 million outside of court with the National Football League- a case in which the players claimed to have suffered concussions under the NFL’s watch during their playing careers. Independent doctors and fund administrators agreed upon by both parties are expected to evaluate who in the group actually qualifies to receive part of the settlement. When all numbers are finalized, and the settlement begins to pay out to the former players, 50 percent will be received over the course of the first three years, and the remainder will be dispensed over the next 17 years following (Heitner). The NFL has not been helping its former players at all, in fact, they have been avoiding giving such assistance.
In a way, the NFL’s attitude toward former players could be described as “Delay, Deny, and Hope They Die (Dwyre). The blame should be put on the NFL, for not wanting to help keep their former players healthy once they reach the older ages of 35 to 40. And part of the blame, perhaps more than half, should be placed squarely in the lap of the NFL Players’ Association, which barely acknowledges the rights of their players. However, none of that’s should justify the NFL fighting the recent concussion lawsuit presented by former players. For starters, none of the players knew what a concussion was when it fi...

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... soon as they could get it, because of their treatment costs. This is wrong. If the NFL were helping out their former players in other ways, this would be quite different. But instead, they are giving the least amount of assistance possible. In one of the largest and most popular businesses in the sports industry, everyone is going down the path of least resistance.
The NFL and NFLPA continue to try to ignore the results of concussions on players even though there is more evidence being found against these claims. Go ahead, NFL, keep showing us how strong you are. Give it a few years; you won’t be able to deny it anymore. The players should receive better support, and whether you agree to help or not, sooner or later, there will be evidence, and it will no longer be your choice to make. Stop mistreating your players, give them the help they deserve, the time is now.

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