The Weekly Journal
It might be dangerous on a football field, but it ain't Iraq.
February 5, 2007
During professional football's biggest week, the Super Bowl, the long-term health of its players came under scrutiny.
Make no mistake about it, today's player is a 21st century gladiator. We as spectators, love the big hit, the sound of two human beings colliding in mid-stride. Players thrive on the contact too and they often push themselves to get ready for the game before their bodies are ready. But much of the physical damage doesn't surface until well after the final whistle blows. Earl Campbell, a Sherman tank of a running back, walks with a cane. John Elway wobbles up the fairway. And a few weeks ago, the former all-pro standout for the Philadelphia Eagles, Andre Water, committed suicide.
Water's was suffering from brain damage and depression caused from concussions on the football field. His death inspired, Ted Johnson, the former captain of the three-time Super Bowl champion Patriots, to come forward with his diagnosis of early Alzheimer's. He's 34, and will soon run out of health benefits. In a New York Times article this week, he claimed that future hall of fame coach, Bill Belichek, had made him take the field before he'd fully recovered from a concussion.
No coach can make a player do anything he doesn't want to do, but the threat of losing one's job is usually all that's needed to force someone to push themselves beyond the pain. Compared to baseball or basketball players, footballers are second class citizens. They don't have guaranteed contracts; their health benefits stop after six years even though the odds of injury are much greater. Salaries are much lower too despite the fact, football generates more income than any professional sport.
Still, it's hard to feel sorry for these gladiators. They are hailed as heroes and make a ton of money compared to the average Joe. And yes, they do put their bodies at risk, but so do lots of other folks. Coal miners in West Virginia don't make in a year what a football player makes for a single game. And lets not forget the men and women in our armed forces in Iraq. The odds of death on a football field are minimal; every day at least one US solider dies in Iraq. Military personnel might get a decent pension if they can survive twenty years, but they still earn peanuts for the risks they take. So before we get too carried away about feeling sorry for our grid iron warriors, let's not lose our perspective or forget the true soldiers of the battlefield and the sacrifices they make for inconsequential remuneration and recognition.
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