Should The NFL Be Held Liable for Injuries Suffered by Football Players?

The topic I will be discussing in this draft is the debate on whether the National Football League should be held liable for injuries that their employee’s sustained while playing professional football. The injuries that I will discuss are concussion and traumatic brain injuries related to multiple concussions. In years past this injury wasn’t know n to be as prevalent because that game was played at a much slower speed. Players in todays’ game are bigger, faster and stronger than ever. It has been documented that the players themselves willingly know the risk they are taking yet still take the chance at playing the game. Players and player group representatives are now seeking compensation for their player and player’s families. Should the NFL be held liable or should the employee who already knows the risk take full responsibility? Because of this controversy the NFL has recently come under fire due to game related head injuries to active players which cause long lasting effects. In addition family members seek compensation to former player deaths due to these injuries.

An argument can be based on whether or not the NFL should be held liable when players know what a violent sport they participate in. The NFL is 10 Billion dollar a year business and the majority of their income are made through the exploitation of their players (Grove, J 760). The argument can be made that players should seek compensation for injuries because salaries for injured players are not guaranteed beyond the season in which the injury is sustained (Grove, J 760). It has been posed as whether or not the government should step in to help regulate owed compensation. One way the state or federal government can intervene and impose legislative act...

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...ut the money in the pockets of the NFL the ones that should pay?

Resources:

Beaver, W. (2013). The Future of Football. Society. Vol. 50(4), 335-338

Bryson-Campbell, M., Shaw, L., O’Brien, J., Holmes, J., Magalhaes L., (2013). A Scoping Review on Occupational and Self Identity After a Brain Injury. Work, 44(1), 57-67

Gandert D. & Kim E. (2013). The NFL’s Headache: Issues California Workers’ Compensation for Continuous Head Traumas in former Professional Football Palyers. University of Toledo Law Review. Vol 45(1), 57-88

Grove, J.P (2012). Three and Out: The NFL’s Concussion Liability and How Players can Tackle the Problem. Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law, Vol.14(3), 649-691.

Smith, Rodney(2013).. Thomas Jefferson Law Review, Vol.35(2), 127-191 Solving the Concussion Problem and Saving Professional Football