The Concussion Crisis

The NFL is at a crossroads. The league continues to be extremely popular (nearly 68,000 spectators attended games in 2009), extremely profitable (the league brought in nearly $7.8 billion dollars in 2010), and extremely dangerous (concussion rates have gone up nearly 30% since the 2008 season). The most dominant professional sports league teeters on the brink of uncertainty. Much like the former Soviet Union, the NFL is self imploding. A certain player lockout hovers on the horizon but is the least of the concerns for the league. It is the recent discovery of the physical impact the game is having on thousands of former players that threatens the culture of America's game, and only a massive public relations push can save the league from collapse.

The American Public has seen how tarnished a league can become when faced with both a lockout and a culture change, Major League Baseball being the best example. The leagues become damaged. Baseball, once crowned America's Pastime, now plays second fiddle to the football. It is this reality that faces the NFL. The Collective Bargaining Agreement, set to expire on March 3 at midnight is but a quarter of the problem. It is the concussions and studies showing their effects that have finally showed the dark side of the league.

The problem: many former players are coming forward with injuries not seen in the general public. Outside The Lines, ESPN's investigative show told the story of former NFL lineman Tom McHale, who played nine seasons in the league. In 2008, at the age of just 45, McHale died, leaving behind a wife and two young sons. Autopsy reports showed that McHale suffered from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or CTE, at the time of his death, which is caused from repeated blows to the head.

William “Refrigerator” Perry, the Chicago Bears defensive tackle famous for his “Super Bowl Shuffle”, is nearly immobilized as a result of a bruising career.

So if the problem is the physical toll, how do we solve the problem of the warrior mentality that has long been a part of the game?

It starts at the lowest levels. The NFL needs to seriously consider doing a public information campaign where parents are alerted to the dangers of playing football at a young age but that football can easily be picked up once the player has matured. The NFL needs to offer and promote flag football leagues that work more on the skill of the sport than the hitting. Furthermore, if young children do decide to play football, coaches need to be held legally liable to teach correct tackling form and the NFL needs to reinforce then in order to ensure the public they are doing everything they can to reduce injuries.

But more than enforcing good tackling form, it is important to let the players know that if they are hurt, especially head injuries, they can sit out a practice or game. Growing up, the sports culture has always been to play hurt. Be a man. Warrior Mentality. But at what price are we willing to sacrifice our bodies to playing a game? It comes down to coaches and parents understanding their kids and not pushing the kids to play hurt. The league must pass this culture down to college, high school, and pee-wee players through its pr department.

Second, Roger Goodell, the Commissioner of the NFL, needs to put down his foot on the idea of and 18-game season. What kind of message does that send to players and fans to subject the players to extra games while “trying” to reduce concussions? And if the league does have a lockout, even more efforts will have to be made in the pr department in order to ensure that the NFL does not suffer the same fate as the MLB.