New Post: Ripping Goodell for fining Ed Reed

[ThisGirlBleedsPurple]

Or the players can stop these nonsensical law suits about a sport they knew was every bit as dangerous as advertised?

That way the league would not be forced into this corner and responding the way they have been.

Exactly!! This has been my argument on this situation. Players come in knowing how physical and, at times, dangerous this game can be. THEY CHOOSE TO PLAY and then sue the NFL for their injuries. Shouldn't this be a 'play at your own risk' game? Kind of like the whole smokers lawsuit....choosing to smoke and then suing the cigarette companies for their health issues after already knowing the risks of smoking beforehand. I don't get it...and the fact that many of these people are quite successful in their lawsuits. There is something wrong with this picture and if I'm missing something here, someone chime in and enlighten me.

[ThisGirlBleedsPurple]

Oh, the poor, poor, poor owners!

FYI the whole point of the majority of suits is that the sport until recently has not been "advertised" as "dangerous"--the case can be (& is being) made that for years the league covered up &/or minimized the danger from head trauma caused by the violence of the game--risks of which it was well aware. The situation is analogous to cigarette companies' attempts to cover up or obfuscate the risks from smoking that their own research discovered.

LOL...I used the same analogy before reading through all the posts but it truly is the same!

[ThisGirlBleedsPurple]

Another thing if Goodell really cared about players health, he would NOT being pushing for a 18 game schedule.

Or as Ed Reed stated previously...why do they play Thursday night football only giving these guys 3 days to recover from a previous game? Where's the player safety in that?

[jaydee414]

...and it's all about "player safety".......and those players are Franklin, Grant, Jackson, Hamilton, Lincoln, Jefferson and Washington.

(thanks, Lob)

[NCRAVEN]

I've got an idea. How about the players propose what they think will not hurt the game but will eliminate the penalties and also make them safer. Just an idea, that probably makes too much sense to happen.

[lobachevsky]

...and it's all about "player safety".......and those players are Franklin, Grant, Jackson, Hamilton, Lincoln, Jefferson and Washington.

Fixed that for ya.

And to flesh out the roster: McKinley, Cleveland, Madison, Chase & Wilson--still legal tender though discontinued 34 years ago.

[steelerhater]

Oh, the poor, poor, poor owners!

FYI the whole point of the majority of suits is that the sport until recently has not been "advertised" as "dangerous"--the case can be (& is being) made that for years the league covered up &/or minimized the danger from head trauma caused by the violence of the game--risks of which it was well aware. The situation is analogous to cigarette companies' attempts to cover up or obfuscate the risks from smoking that their own research discovered.

This is ridiculus. In 1978, Darryl Stingley was paralyzed by a hit in a preseason game. In 1985, Joe Theisman had his leg broken in one of the most gruesome fashions seen. In 1991, Mike Utley was paralyzed by making a tackle. I remember watching pregame shows in the '70's and early '80's discussing how many retired players had trouble getting out of bed in the morning and that the life-expectancy on an NFL player was about 10-15 years less than normal. Anyone who claims that they didn't know this sport was dangerous has no business in a court room. They don't have the basic intelligence to make any kind of argument.

[mmi16]

Or the players can stop these nonsensical law suits about a sport they knew was every bit as dangerous as advertised?

That way the league would not be forced into this corner and responding the way they have been.

If it was your brain that was scrambled would it still be nonsense?

[HoustonRaven]

If it was your brain that was scrambled would it still be nonsense?

See steelerhaters response.

[rlh445]

If it was your brain that was scrambled would it still be nonsense?

Yup, it'd still be nonsense because his brain would be scrambled. Seriously, every last one of these guys playing today and days gone by have always known football is a dangerous sport. People are acting like it was some hush hush deal that the NFL continuously scurried about to keep under wraps. Uh, no. You're told from pee wee football on how dangerous the sport is and how care must be taken both in your personal physical training and your gameplay training to help attempt to avoid 'serious' injury. Serious because you're also told that you're not going to avoid all injury, just if you're lucky you don't face a serious one. Please. NFL retirees who are trying to claim they were in the dark about the dangers of playing a sport like football really are brain scrambled or they are lying to try and get money. I'm betting on the latter.

[ThisGirlBleedsPurple]

NFL retirees who are trying to claim they were in the dark about the dangers of playing a sport like football really are brain scrambled or they are lying to try and get money. I'm betting on the latter.

Very true. You don't get to the level of professional football without knowing the inherent risks of the game. It would be like a firefighter suing because he didn't know he could get burned in a fire...it's the nature of the position.

BTW, do you know if players have to sign some sort of hold harmless waiver when they enter the NFL? Just curious.

[lobachevsky]

As usual, the billionaires' apologists are out in force.

Anecdotal evidence like Stingley is immaterial to the argument. For many years the NFL sold the violent side of the game, encouraging players to hit one another as hard as possible (without breaking their necks of course) so they could put the best shots on highlight reels for the enjoyment of the barely-sublimated sadists they treasured as fans--all the while knowing that nothing more than the head trauma that had become standard in the game (with their encouragement) was overwhelmingly likely to lead to shorter life spans & diminished mental capacity.

But go ahead, keep kissing the billionaires' asses for all I care.