7 ms·

I find it interesting that at the end he doesn't blame american football in itself for the negative long term effects in his health as I thought he was heading

by soneca 9y ago

I find it interesting that at the end he doesn't blame american football in itself for the negative long term effects in his health as I thought he was heading to. He ends up (spoilers alert) coaching football. I myself do not have a strong opinion on the matter of the ethics of creating a billionaire business around a game that is so dangerous to everyone that plays it seriously, from high school to pros. I am instinctively against, but as long as the issues are clear, transparent and everyone involved have all access to information needed to do their own informed choices, it seems correct. That said, a very brave and insightful tale on how these personal struggles are. Very well written too. And glad to know that there are effective treatments out there that can help this kind of health problems.

jcstk 9y ago
Here are some interesting perspectives from NFL players on that thought: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2705935-joe-thomas-says-hes-experiencing-memory-loss-willing-to-accept-risks-of-nfl http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2705935-joe-thomas-says-h... https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/sports/wp/2016/06/07/chris-borland-shares-his-views-on-the-nfls-nih-funding-footballs-future-and-more/?utm_term=.21513c2400be https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/sports/wp/2016/06/07/chr...
- soneca 9y ago
  Thanks! Impressed how smart and well articulated these players are. Impressive interview from this Chris Borland. I am used to follow soccer. Soccer players in Brazil don't usually finish school properly and come from very poor background where education is awful even if you finish school. It is a sad state of basic understanding of the world and autonomous thinking.
  - jccooper 9y ago
    In the NFL they've all gone to college, and the game selects for mental ability quite strongly. They'll tell you the locker room is not unlike any other professional workplace (except perhaps more fun and with more unity), and while I've never been there, I believe it.
- iamtew 9y ago
  Arian Foster was on the Joe Rogan podcast a while back, they were talking a lot about head trauma, how it affects people and how they're dealing with it in NFL. Very interesting to watch/listen to. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neVsniQdOnM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neVsniQdOnM
skierscott 9y ago
Here's some more articles about football health effects: – "Football, dogfighting and brain damage"[1] by Malcolm Gladwell. – "Football continues to dominate high school sports despite concussion risk"[2] – "What Happened Within This Player’s Skull"[3], which examines acceleration/etc from each hit [1]:http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/10/19/offensive-play http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/10/19/offensive-play [2]:http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2012/09/08/football-continues-to-dominate-high-school-sports-despite-concussion-risk.html http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2012/09/08/football-continues-... [3]:https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/01/09/sports/football/what-happened-within-this-players-skull-football-concussions.html https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/01/09/sports/footba...
- 0x4f3759df 9y ago
  "League of Denial: The NFL's Concussion Crisis" covered this well... http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/league-of-denial/ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/league-of-denial/
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
tokai 9y ago
>He ends up (spoilers alert) coaching football. That is actually really sad. Motor sport used to be very deadly half a century ago, and it took hard work from drivers to change that. Drivers that were often ridiculed for talking about the need for safety. Now professional motor sport is surprisingly safe, just take Scott Dixons crash at Indy 500 yesterday from which he escaped unscathed. Football players have to demand their safety is taken seriously before any positive change is going to happen to the sport.
- Klathmon 9y ago
  I think it's going to take more than just the players demanding their safety, mainly because as this article notes, it's not going to happen on it's own. Why not align the incentives? Fans of the game should be putting pressure on the coaches about ensuring that their favorite players aren't injured, coaches should be pressuring the association to force better safety systems so their players don't get removed from the game, the contracts with players should value their long-term abilities more than their short-term wins, the association can start including more and more safety requirements and rules to make sure that the fans keep watching for their favorite stars. This kind of thing needs to be attacked at all angles, make everyone involved WANT better safety by making it make beneficial to everyone involved.
  - ebiester 9y ago
    There is only so much safety when you're talking about 300 pounds meeting 250 pounds. The problem with football is physics.
    - Klathmon 9y ago
      Then change the rules of the game. Racing did it, they regulated the max amount of fuel, they reduced the top speeds, they added safety barriers, etc... Do it with football. Change their gear, change the allowed "hits", remove their cleats, etc... I don't actually watch football so I'm not sure what would help or wouldn't, but don't act like this is just impossible to resolve. Yeah, people would probably hate these kinds of solutions right now, but if you get the public opinion on your side, and you start moving in that direction people will change, they will realize being able to watch a safer form of football with their favorite players in it beats being able to watch "current football" but with all their favorite players horribly injured with their lives ruined.
rdiddly 9y ago
> ...as long as the issues are clear, transparent and everyone involved have all access to information needed to do their own informed choices, it seems correct. That's a tall order though. I don't think all those conditions are necessarily being met!
PhasmaFelis 9y ago
> He ends up (spoilers alert) coaching football. Jesus. It's like one of those generational cycle of abuse stories.
- QML 9y ago
  Eh, we don't know that. Maybe he goes back, trains players better to avoid injuries, and prioritizes their safety.

by soneca 9y ago

jcstk 9y ago

Here are some interesting perspectives from NFL players on that thought: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2705935-joe-thomas-says-hes-experiencing-memory-loss-willing-to-accept-risks-of-nfl http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2705935-joe-thomas-says-h... https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/sports/wp/2016/06/07/chris-borland-shares-his-views-on-the-nfls-nih-funding-footballs-future-and-more/?utm_term=.21513c2400be https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/sports/wp/2016/06/07/chr...

soneca 9y ago
Thanks! Impressed how smart and well articulated these players are. Impressive interview from this Chris Borland. I am used to follow soccer. Soccer players in Brazil don't usually finish school properly and come from very poor background where education is awful even if you finish school. It is a sad state of basic understanding of the world and autonomous thinking.
- jccooper 9y ago
  In the NFL they've all gone to college, and the game selects for mental ability quite strongly. They'll tell you the locker room is not unlike any other professional workplace (except perhaps more fun and with more unity), and while I've never been there, I believe it.
iamtew 9y ago
Arian Foster was on the Joe Rogan podcast a while back, they were talking a lot about head trauma, how it affects people and how they're dealing with it in NFL. Very interesting to watch/listen to. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neVsniQdOnM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neVsniQdOnM

skierscott 9y ago

Here's some more articles about football health effects: – "Football, dogfighting and brain damage"[1] by Malcolm Gladwell. – "Football continues to dominate high school sports despite concussion risk"[2] – "What Happened Within This Player’s Skull"[3], which examines acceleration/etc from each hit [1]:http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/10/19/offensive-play http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/10/19/offensive-play [2]:http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2012/09/08/football-continues-to-dominate-high-school-sports-despite-concussion-risk.html http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2012/09/08/football-continues-... [3]:https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/01/09/sports/football/what-happened-within-this-players-skull-football-concussions.html https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/01/09/sports/footba...

0x4f3759df 9y ago
"League of Denial: The NFL's Concussion Crisis" covered this well... http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/league-of-denial/ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/league-of-denial/

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

tokai 9y ago

>He ends up (spoilers alert) coaching football. That is actually really sad. Motor sport used to be very deadly half a century ago, and it took hard work from drivers to change that. Drivers that were often ridiculed for talking about the need for safety. Now professional motor sport is surprisingly safe, just take Scott Dixons crash at Indy 500 yesterday from which he escaped unscathed. Football players have to demand their safety is taken seriously before any positive change is going to happen to the sport.

Klathmon 9y ago
I think it's going to take more than just the players demanding their safety, mainly because as this article notes, it's not going to happen on it's own. Why not align the incentives? Fans of the game should be putting pressure on the coaches about ensuring that their favorite players aren't injured, coaches should be pressuring the association to force better safety systems so their players don't get removed from the game, the contracts with players should value their long-term abilities more than their short-term wins, the association can start including more and more safety requirements and rules to make sure that the fans keep watching for their favorite stars. This kind of thing needs to be attacked at all angles, make everyone involved WANT better safety by making it make beneficial to everyone involved.
- ebiester 9y ago
  There is only so much safety when you're talking about 300 pounds meeting 250 pounds. The problem with football is physics.
  - Klathmon 9y ago
    Then change the rules of the game. Racing did it, they regulated the max amount of fuel, they reduced the top speeds, they added safety barriers, etc... Do it with football. Change their gear, change the allowed "hits", remove their cleats, etc... I don't actually watch football so I'm not sure what would help or wouldn't, but don't act like this is just impossible to resolve. Yeah, people would probably hate these kinds of solutions right now, but if you get the public opinion on your side, and you start moving in that direction people will change, they will realize being able to watch a safer form of football with their favorite players in it beats being able to watch "current football" but with all their favorite players horribly injured with their lives ruined.

rdiddly 9y ago

> ...as long as the issues are clear, transparent and everyone involved have all access to information needed to do their own informed choices, it seems correct. That's a tall order though. I don't think all those conditions are necessarily being met!

PhasmaFelis 9y ago

> He ends up (spoilers alert) coaching football. Jesus. It's like one of those generational cycle of abuse stories.

QML 9y ago
Eh, we don't know that. Maybe he goes back, trains players better to avoid injuries, and prioritizes their safety.