How big of a joke is the NFL as an organization?

in

Feel better?

Also, not entirely sure what the question is.

quote:

---

How big of a joke is the NFL as an organization?

---

I dunno, I assume a big one, in your opinion?

quote:

---

The league has known how dangerous it's game is for 20+ years. If they didn't know, it's because they chose not to. The evidence was there. Once faced with lawsuits, they made rule changes for player safety.

---

I could easily take "league" and insert "players". Why are you absolving individuals of personal responsibility? This is a prime example of how we have become a culture that not only doesn't exercise personal responsibility, but frowns upon it.

"Gee, you mean running around crushing other people and getting crushed on a daily/weekly basis for years at a time is detrimental to my health? The NFL never told me that, so I need money."

quote:

---

but also many are being arrested for things that would cause a normal business employee to resign or be terminated.

---

The more you're worth to your "company", the more you can get away with. There's nothing wrong with that. You would fire the Janitor for things you wouldn't fire your CFO over.

And to be quite honest, why is the NFL responsible to dole out punishment immediately? Other than saving face because their "employees" represent the credibility of their brand, the NFL has no obligation to suspend players or fine them. That's what the legal system is for.

I'd be willing to bet if your workplace was highly scrutinized, reported on and constantly in the media spotlight, you'd find that what the NFL is going through isn't uncommon for a "business". They are just in the spotlight, so we see it more often.

quote:

---

if you believe that just because a person gets paid a lot of money, it shouldn't be okay to subject them to unneccessary harm that shortens their life and health all because it's fun to watch as a fan

---

Well, I dont believe that. They are animals on a leash and are paid handsomely to entertain us.

quote:

---

I could easily take "league" and insert "players". Why are you absolving individuals of personal responsibility? This is a prime example of how we have become a culture that not only doesn't exercise personal responsibility, but frowns upon it.

---

Yes players should've been more personally responsible to the dangers they faced. The NFL had more resources available to research the topic, and were even presented outside research about safety. They should have definitely been more proactive in the pursuit of player safety information. I was in no way making a case for the players, they are clearly not the brightest, doesn't excuse the NFL and the businessmen who should know better.

quote:

---

I'd be willing to bet if your workplace was highly scrutinized, reported on and constantly in the media spotlight, you'd find that what the NFL is going through isn't uncommon for a "business". They are just in the spotlight, so we see it more often.

---

This is fair. My point was that the players that represent their brand, are shown to the public in a very bad light, that would normally crush a business. It raises the question, "what would it take?" for the NFL to lose it's success?

$$$ is the root of all evil, and the NFL is an evil empire.

Such a joke that its worth over 50 billion!

quote:

---

I wish the product on the field wasn't so good

---

#decline

quote:

---

But he's not the onl problem. The league has known how dangerous it's game is for 20+ years. If they didn't know, it's because they chose not to. The evidence was there. Once faced with lawsuits, they made rule changes for player safety. Some fans may disagree with the changes but they are necessary and great (if you believe that just because a person gets paid a lot of money, it shouldn't be okay to subject them to unneccessary harm that shortens their life and health all because it's fun to watch as a fan.) But the NFL couldn't are less about player health as evidenced by the ignorance to these issues until lawsuits. Along with the fact that there are 4 preseason games (meaningless and not needed, but $$$$), and they are wanting to add more regular season games.

The players are the face of the league, and there are plenty of good ones, but also many are being arrested for things that would cause a normal business employee to resign or be terminated.

All of these things would crush a normal business, but it makes you wonder if anything could turn fans away from the game (myself included).

---

Great post.

I'd go on to say that while players bear responsibility for individual acts, the league bears responsibility for fostering a climate that promotes poor safety, refusing appropriate medical treatment and deliberate attempts to injure opponents. The continual blows to the head suffered by players are linked with early onset dementia, CTE and so on. Those conditions are linked with cognitive and emotional impairments resulting in poor judgement. It's not a stretch to propose that the league ignores (or did ignore) the effect the game had on players lives simply because the money kept rolling in. They also turn a blind eye to en-masse illegal use of performance enhancing drugs. Was it two or three years ago London Fletcher said at least 10% of the league uses HGH? And that was considered to be a conservative estimate. They blame the players union but they're not exactly falling over themselves to get HGH/steroid etc testing carried out.

It's not a popular opinion on this or other sports boards to say that the NFL is shafting most of their players. But the evidence is there.

There's a reason Junior Seau shot himself in the heart, not the head. He knew. He cared that someone could see his brain. And he was probably aware that the NFL knew what was going on before they let on.

"The players knew" defense is bullshite. The NFL knew more, and the NFL should've informed players.

Here's the concussion timeline from Deadspin...

quote:

---

1933: The NCAA's medical handbook is distributed to all member schools. It warns that concussions are treated too lightly, and recommends that concussed players receive rest and constant supervision, and not be allowed to play or practice until symptoms have been gone for 48 hours. For symptoms lasting longer than 48 hours, it recommends players "not be permitted to compete for 21 days or longer, if at all."

1937: At its annual meeting, the American Football Coaches Association declares that concussed players should immediately be taken out of a game. "Sports demanding personal contact should be eliminated after an individual has suffered a concussion."

1952: A study appearing in the New England Journal of Medicine urges players who suffer three concussions to leave football forever for their own safety.

1973: The condition later named Second Impact Syndrome is first identified. It occurs when an athlete receives a concussion while still suffering the effects of a previous one, and according to a 2013 study in the Journal of Neurosurgery it carries a 90 percent mortality rate. "Those who do survive second impact syndrome are neurologically devastated," reports the director of the Sports Concussion Clinic at Children's Hospital Boston.

1999: The NFL's retirement board quietly begins giving out millions in disability payments to former players suffering cognitive decline, finding that they had become "totally disabled" due to "league football activities."

2000: A study presented at the American Academy of Neurology's annual meeting finds that 61 percent of former NFL players sustained concussions, with 79 percent of those injured saying they had not been forced to leave the game. Furthermore:

49% of the former players had numbness or tingling; 28% had neck or cervical spine arthritis; 31% had difficulty with memory; 16% were unable to dress themselves; and 11% were unable to feed themselves;
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones tells ESPN he'd push Troy Aikman to play through concussions "since all data that we have so far don’t point to any lasting effects, long-term effects from the head trauma." Aikman's career will be shortened by concussions.

2002: Dr. Bennet Omalu examines the brain of Mike Webster and sees a splotchy accumulation of tau protein, evidence of a brain disease that Omalu calls Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. CTE is a neurological degenerative disease most often found in the brains of boxers, and provides a direct link between head trauma and dementia later in life. (A 2013 paper in the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society will dispute that CTE is a unique disease.)

2003: A study of retired football players finds that having multiple concussions doubled their risk of developing depression later in life.

Meanwhile, the MTBI committee releases the first results of its study. It finds that concussions have no long-term health effects.

Wayne Chrebet is concussed during a game and examined by Pellman, the Jets physician and MTBI committee co-chair. Pellman reportedly tells Chrebet, "This is a very important for your career" and sends him back into the game. Chrebet's symptoms persist after the game, and he is placed on season-ending injured reserve.

2004: Justin Strzelczyk drives his car at 90 mph into a tractor-trailer. Just 36, he had been exhibiting erratic behavior for months. Omalu examines his brain and finds evidence of CTE.

2005: The MTBI committee releases more findings. Among the conclusions: "Return to play does not involve a significant risk of a second injury either in the same game or during the season."

A study by the UNC Center for the Study of Retired Athletes finds a connection between concussions and Alzheimer's disease, dementia, and depression in former NFL players. More, it finds a correlation between the long-term effects on the number of concussions the player suffered.

2005: A survey of retired NFLers finds a history of concussions makes a player five times as likely to suffer cognitive impairment.

2005: Omalu publishes the results of his examination of Webster's brain in the journal Neurosurgery. The MTBI committee attacks his report and demands that Neurosurgery retract the article.

2005: Terry Long commits suicide by drinking antifreeze. He is found to have CTE, and the medical examiner rules brain trauma a contributing factor in his death.

"The trauma, according to the death certificate, was a result of his injuries during his tenure as a football player. I think it is the same as what was on Mike Webster's death certificate."
2006: Andre Waters shoots himself in the head. Omalu examines his brain and says Waters had the brain tissue of an 85-year-old man.

2006: ESPN discontinues its "Jacked Up!" segment highlighting the hardest and most spectacular hits of the weekend's games.

---

I cut a lot of it out to fit the post limit. Anyone who thinks the NFL acted in good faith is either ignorant or a fool.