It’s more and more evident all the time that watching (and especially playing) football comes with some moral baggage. The New York Times recently published the results that could expedite the elimination of American football as we know it. In short, the study, conducted at Boston University, looked at 111 brains of former NFL players. All of whom agree, in life, to donate their brains to science after death. In 110 of those 111, the brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) was present. The sport of football can no longer go on as business-as-usual. Same for those of us in the football fan base. There is a real and ever-present danger for NFL players and CTE.
Following comes from the New York Times story.
Of the 202 players, 111 of them played in the N.F.L. — and 110 of those were found to have chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or C.T.E., the degenerative disease believed to be caused by repeated blows to the head.
C.T.E. causes myriad symptoms, including memory loss, confusion, depression and dementia. The problems can arise years after the blows to the head have stopped.
The brains here are from players who died as young as 23 and as old as 89. And they are from every position on the field — quarterbacks, running backs and linebackers, and even a place-kicker and a punter.
They are from players you have never heard of and players, like Ken Stabler, who are enshrined in the Hall of Fame. Some of the brains cannot be publicly identified, per the families’ wishes.
The NFL can tweak things all they want, but the statistics keep pouring in: playing football can cost its players years off the back-end of their lives.
The Need for Science on NFL Players and CTE
More players, including Warren Sapp, have stated their intention to do the same when their lives end. The more we know about the brains of NFL players and CTE, the better equipped the sport is to properly protect its players in the future. Although, there is the possibility that the sport causes too much damage to those playing it.
Sapp is actually one of the best and most active players (former or otherwise) on the issue. And is taking the game’s safety very seriously.
Warren Sapp!! After listening to him at the Concussion Legacy summit last nite, I thought: if he ran the NFL we might save football. pic.twitter.com/cSnJH5k8Qq
— Malcolm Gladwell (@Gladwell) May 11, 2017
It is important to take the study’s results seriously. Context is important, however. The brains of 111 former players is a fraction of the total player base. Additionally, in order for a former player’s brain to be studied, that player needs to have died (obviously) and consented to donate his brain before death. A player is more probably likely to consent such a posthumous study because they believed something bad was happening to their brain. That would create a situation where the numbers are skewed because they are heavily weighted towards those former players who were most at risk of having CTE. The numbers are horrifying, regardless. But it’s not like we’re excitedly watching playing willingly give themselves brain disease or Sundays. Or are we?
Unless you’re okay with keeping yourself willingly ignorant to the science, continuing to watch football requires one to reflect on how they weigh the entertainment value versus how much they value the lives of those providing the entertainment.
Rationalizing the Brutality
People can make the “players get paid very well, and they know what they’re getting into” argument. Fine. If that’s the math you do to rationalize it, and it’s not a moral question of whether or not to keep watching players slowly turn their brains into mush, do you. (I’m actually kind of jealous of you.) For the rest of us, watching football must get to the point where it makes us a little uncomfortable.
Back to the people who turn a blind eye for a second: One, the money the players get doesn’t really mean much if they aren’t around to enjoy the fruits of their labor, or are forced to spend it all on medical bills. Second, players didn’t always know what they were getting into. The science pretty clearly shows that repeated small hits to the head can do the most damage. Most linemen, not they’re going to get headaches, they didn’t know long-term effects.
The NFL Isn’t Going Anywhere (For Now)
NFL football is a billion-dollar industry. It offers TV stations a rating bonanza once or twice a week. The Super Bowl is consistently one of the most-watched events around the globe. Football isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. The challenge, though, is coming down the pike. It’s likely more and more parents will decide to keep their kids from playing football.
That’s the issue for the sport. Within the next decade, if participation amongst America’s youth drops enough, football could see a demise that comes from the bottom up. If the link between NFL players and CTE continues to go hand-in-hand, it’s just not worth anybody playing football at any level.
Looking at History Through the Mirror
It could cut both ways, though. In ancient times, the original gladiators were criminals and slaves … people cast out of traditional society. But as gladiator games became more popular, and people saw the gladiators obtaining celebrity, ordinary people willingly signed up.
Football could experience this in reverse. If the idea of letting children play football becomes toxic enough, it does create a vacuum for those who are so financially desperate and on the outskirts of society that they are willing to sacrifice their bodies for our entertainment. If that’s the case, it would make the job description for a professional football player not unlike that of a prostitute.
The NFL is already behind the curve because they spent so much time dismissing the evidence. Now, the evidence is getting overwhelming. Either the NFL will seriously look at dramatic changes to the manner of play, equipment used, or anything else that can protect players’ brains. The NFL and the sport, in general, must act now to ensure the link between NFL players and CTE declines in the future. Or the sport will ultimately go away.
A lot of us (myself included) will continue to watch with our hands over our eyes – but spread our fingers just enough to get a clear view (and keep tabs on our fantasy teams). But science keeps reminding us that we should close our fingers for good to shield ourselves from our modern-day gladiators. But who needs morals or science? Or even those annoying fingers blocking your view of the game when you need 15 points from your fantasy running back, right?
