Life of a Football Player: Success or Stitches Friends, fame, money, and success is something that everyone wants in life but what if all this came with the price of a fatal brain injury, would you still look at life the same? Football players across the nation ask themselves the same question when choosing a career in football. “What factors do football players use to measure the importance of their lives, success or their personal health?” The film “Undefeated” (2011), by Daniel Lindsay and T.J. Martin, and an article published in the New York Times titled “Dying to Play”(2012) by Kevin Cook, took a part in helping me to understand a deeper meaning of this question. Both articles analyze the positive and negative effects of football and …show more content…
From a high school level to a professional level football players everywhere have acquired a numerous amount of brain injuries and diseases from playing the sport that they love. According to Cook; concussions, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s are just a few risks that athletes put themselves up against when choosing to play. Cook explains that until the culture of football changes all we can do as Americans is to stop pressuring injured players to get back into the game until they have been cleared. While both the filmmakers and the author understand how important football is, Cook only comments on the negative impact that it has on players; Lindsay and Martin have an optimistic view on how football positively impacts the players’ …show more content…
So, is success or health more important in life? Cook’s article shines light on many players who are not happy with the outcome of their life after football. This makes me realize that players are too involved in the success they achieve at such a young age, that they don’t stop and take a second to think about their future. Lindsay and Martin also show how players put the game before themselves, and love the positivity that they get out of putting their lives at risk. Players’ fifteen minutes of fame is more important than the life that awaits them once they can’t play anymore. Is money and wealth more important than an individual life? Lindsay, Martin and Cook bring these questions come to
In the article “Should Kids Play Football” from the Scholastic Scope on February 2015, writer Jennifer Shotz discusses both issues of the benefits and dangers of playing American football. For example, Jennifer Shots mentioned that tens of thousands of young football players get concussions every year. She states that most players return to the game after they are healed but some never return because their concussion was too severe to their health. On the other hand, the writer also discusses how football isn't the only sport that encounters concussions. The rules of football are always changing and each new rule provides a safer way to play the game. For example, the writer notes that Pop Warner has reduced the amount of practice time dedicated
In Daniel Flynn’s essay “Football Does a Body Good,” he states his point of view on football and the way people should see it. Football is a dangerous sport that has caused many types of head injuries concussions and other health problems throughout the years. This popular sport has caused many players to develop diseases later on in life, such as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE, Alzheimer 's, and Dementia. One of the NFL’s most pressing issues is concussions, which can have life-changing health effects on the football players.
For example, “The N.F.L., which long denied that there was any link between the game and brain damage, has in recent years been promoting what it considers safer tackling techniques aimed at reducing head-to-head collisions” (Larned, CNN). This is important because it helps you understand the action being taken to reduce head to head contact in effort to reduce concussions in football at all ages. This shows that the more we study tackles and new techniques, the more we are able to take concussions out of football. In addition, Victoria Larned wrote, “It suggests that participants weigh potential health risks against the recreation benefits of proper tackling.” This shows that, in fact, many people are aware of the benefits gained by proper tackling technique. If kids are introduced to proper tackling techniques, the game of football becomes safer for both the tackler and the ball carrier. Teaching kids proper tackling will help reduce the amount of head and neck injuries in
If you have the brains when you start, you are aware that banging your head into people is not the best thing for your body,” stated Chris Cooley, tight end and a 2 time Pro Bowler with the Washington Redskins (Do No Harm, 2). Research over the years has gathered extensive data on the mental and physical illnesses of retired NFL football players. It has proved that players who accumulate numerous concussions are at a higher risk of health problems after their football career than players who’ve sustained fewer. This data is proven by various studies that have caused worry for many retired NFL football families. The examples of deaths resulting from past concussions are astonishing, and the stats that show high risks for the possible problems can prove why they possibly died. Countless retired players are now frightened by the potential hazard of destructive health problems.
Athletes are one of the most highly paid professions, and with that comes a great responsibility to everyone but themselves, even it means putting their lives, and others around them at risk. A football player’s goal is to entertain the fans that tune in to watch them, however their only job is to win their games, and untimely a Super Bowl Championship, but not for themselves, for the franchise that owns them and their bodies. As long as they can run a play and take a hit foot players are gold to their employers, or if you will their owners. “Toughing it out, turns out, can kill people.” (Diaz Truman, M 2013), and cause irreversible brain damage to football players. Continuing to ignore evidence that supports the growing concern of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and how it relates to the NFL players is troubling because of the long term affects it has on a player’s mental s...
As Football fans all over the world countdown to Superbowl 51 and with the Raiders being this year 's up and comers we remember a tragic time in their history. Legendary quarterback Ken Stabler of the Oakland Raiders suffered from C.T.E in which was believed to be caused by multiple blows to the head as a result of football. In Steve Almond’s article “Is it Immoral to Watch the Super Bowl?” he explains to us how most players end up with some form of brain damage and as a result of this his moral compass has shifted and he can no longer watch football. Fortunately being a spectator of a sport where players know the risk, are handsomely rewarded for playing, have a union and health benefits is in fact,
Not many sports are as physically demanding on the human body as football. The physical toll that football players pay is almost impossible to comprehend unless one has actually played the sport for a significant amount of time. However, until recently any connection between the hits taken by football players and their health down the road was largely ignored. A common, yet difficult injury to detect in football is a concussion, the most common traumatic brain injury (Pearce). A concussion is defined as “a brain injury that is caused by a sudden blow to the head or the body. The blow shakes the brain inside the skull, which temporarily prevents the brain from working normally” (Heiner pa.5). Reports and studies have surfaced shedding light on just how much damage is inflicted upon the brain due to crippling hits. These studies suggest that NFL athletes who received concussions suffered lasting damage to the brain, which opens the gate to a multitude of other health issues such as dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and clinical depression (Pearce). This is an aspect of the game that not many are aware of and it is a serous issue that needs to be dealt with sooner rather than later. There have been too many heartbreaking stories such as that of Justin Strzelcyk who heard voices and died in a crash while fleeing police or that of Andre Waters who shot himself in the head after struggles with depression (Zarda pa.1). Many current and former players are suffering in silence; this shouldn’t be the case. The National Football League needs to extend a hand to former players debilitated by head injuries. The problem of concussions and other head injuries in the NFL is one that needs to be tackled head on.
Many memories are made in football, but sadly some of the greatest players cannot recall them. The National Football League has been associated with concussions and brain traumas throughout the years, but lately it has been exposed by media and NFL veterans. The league recently “reached a $765 million preliminary settlement with thousands of former players who were suing the league over its treatment of concussions…” (Waldron). Many former players are experiencing the effects of taking hard hits over and over again; they were not properly treated, which makes the injury worse and long term. The concussion issue in the NFL is more prevalent today, because it affects not only the players, but the league as a whole.
Not only do we know the effects of playing football at a young age, we also have real life stories that have occured to real people. For example, In 2006 a 13 year old named Zachary Lystatdt’s head hit the ground in a routine tackle. He was in pain, so the coach took him out of the game for two plays. He returned to the game and on the last play he collapsed. Zachary was rushed to the hospital and was required to have emergency neurosurgery. After this life changing surgery, 9 months later he was finally able to communicate. Now, he is still learning how to walk (Hamblin, James. “Football Alters the Brains of Kids as Young as 8.”)This story sets an example of why children should not be able to play contact sports until adulthood. Unfortunately, this is not the only sad story about a child who has had life changing effects from playing
Myotonic dystrophy, type 1, is a genetic disorder which is linked to chromosome number 19 in humans. The dystrophia myotonica protein kinase gene is located on the q arm of the chromosome at the locus of 13.32. It is an autosomal dominant disorder, which means that the individuals that are affected by this disorder and contain at least one dominant allele for the dystrophia myotonica protein kinase gene. The disorder is caused by a series of repeats of a trinucleotide region that is expanded beyond the normal levels (Musova et al., 2009). The trinucleotide region is a series of repeats of CTG in the untranslated region of the dystrophia myotonica protein kinase gene. The severity of the disorder is associated with the number of repeats the individual has within the gene. Normal individuals tend to have between 5 and 37 repeats while an individual with a very mild myotonic dystrophy may have 50 to 150 repeats, and if the disorder is discovered at the time of birth the individual will have over 2,000 repeats of the trinucleotide region (Musova et al., 2009). Myotonic dystrophy, type 1, affects multiple organ systems of the body and is relatively slow to progress. Myotonic dystrophy, type 1, is categorized by alterations of the beating pattern of the heart, faulty dystrophin proteins, clouding of the lens of the eye, decreased functionality of the gonads, balding, and myotonia (Musova et al., 2009). Myotonia is described as the slow relaxation of any muscle type, which will cause the individual to use extended effort to simply relax the muscles after they have been contracted. Muscular dystrophy causes an individual to experience muscular deg...
Football is a game of adversity and emotion. People who have not played a sport or follow one closely don’t understand the emotion behind game. They think that football is just a game, but for those who are involved with the team don’t think so. All those horrendous hours of countless preparation are for something players and coaches love. About a few years ago, a football player at the collegiate level was told that he wouldn’t be able to play another down of football again due to his banged up h...
From long practice hours, hot summer workouts, and many Friday nights, my personal observation of this dangerous sport is exceptionally prevalent. My initial experience of the damage that football brings came my eighth grade year when I witnessed a senior football player on my team try and eat a phone on the ride home after receiving a concussion in the third quarter of the game. Which is a prime example to defend the fact that football related injuries to the head result in people not “being all there.” Not only have I seen someone try and eat a phone, but I have also witnessed head injuries resulting in my own friend randomly yelling at me after a game for no reason, and also a friend trying to jump down a full flight of stairs thinking he was starring in a movie. The fast paced, high intensity contact that comes with playing football is nothing to think flippantly of when it plays a role on brain trauma, and the results of brain trauma.
GDF8 in particular is responsible for the growth seen in muscle tissue. Myostatin has been found almost entirely in muscles used for movement such as your skeletal muscles, where it can be found in an active state both before and after birth. This protein has predominantly been known for its restraint of muscle growth, ensuring that muscles do not grow too large. Although myostatin is a fairy new discovery and we don’t know much about it there are a few things that we have learned. The MSTN (myostatin) gene can be found in virtually ever living mammal and is responsible for ensuring that the muscle does not grow to large but there have been some studies found where some have lacked the MSTN gene and have had significantly larger muscles than the average person. The mutation is caused when the gene responsible for making myostatin receives little to no signals or a change in the gene known as IVS1+5G>A, which leads to little or no production of the gene. The minimal production of this protein often leads to the overgrowth of muscle tissue but has not be known to cause any other medical
The culture of football itself is puts the athletes that participate in the sport at a substantial risk for permanent brain damage. “Head hunting” by defensive players is when someone on the defensive side of the ball hits an unsuspecting player with full force, aiming for the head. This is not only psychologically demoralizing to the player, but it causes obvious physical damage. Another relevant aspect of football culture, is the requirement for these athletes to be tough, and play through injury; individuals that remove themselves from the game are seen as soft and selfish. As you can see, football players fail to address the extreme amounts of physical damage they endure throughout games. Players often only remove themselves when they
Rookies may look at an MVP caliber athlete and try to emulate his lifestyle. Athletes are pressured to win, “no matter the cost.” This pressure may come from coaches, teammates, or even family members. Olympic athletes may be the most impacted athletes when it comes to the need to win attitude. An olympic athlete has one shot at glory; one shot at winning a medal for his or her country. This shot only comes once every four years, so they are certainly pressured to perform (“Top 10 Pros and Cons- Drug Use in