Pros And Cons Of Football Players

There are few people in today’s world that choose a profession with many risks to their well-being. These jobs come with huge responsibilities, life threatening risks, but also life changing rewards. Police officers and firefighters put their lives on the line every day to keep the people of the world safe. Soldiers in the military also give up their lives to fight for our country knowing that they could lose their lives to protect others. These men and women know the risks of their fields and still choose them as their professions because they love what they do and want to make the world a better place. Football players are another example of people who have a job that could seriously affect them physically and mentally. Getting hit the wrong

way or even in the wrong place is never a good thing.

They grow up playing a sport that they love and are fully aware that there future is on the line. The few that become professionals are paid high amounts of money to play because of their superior skill set. There are a lot of injuries that come with playing the game and most players have gone through some sort of injury at one point in their career. Injuries are an unfortunate part of the game but the sport shouldn’t be banned because of recent serious injuries to professional and young players. Football players know the risks to their health and thus should be allowed to play the sport without any additional rules or equipment modifications.

Football is a sport with constant collisions, hard hits and exciting plays. A game where the toughest players and teams separate themselves from the rest. Every player from the professional level down to youth leagues knows that you have to be tough to be a successful player. The game comes with injuries, some more serious than others because of the intensity and hard hits from every player. Playing football comes with the knowledge of possible injury and every player knows what their getting into. Early in the 2013 NFL season, many former and current

players were coming out with injury reports and how football is becoming too dangerous to play. Pro Corner back, Richard Sherman, spoke out about the recent players coming out with their injuries and the growing concerns about the league. He talked about all the NFL players as a whole and how they chose their profession. In the interview Sherman states that everyone chose this profession but also, “Concussions are going to happen to corner backs who go low and lead with their shoulders, wide receivers who duck into contact, and safeties who tackle high and linemen who run into somebody on every single play (Bradley).” Richard Sherman talks for the entire league from his position and to all others in the game, that players know the risks and choose to play in the NFL. The actions they choose to use when trying to tackle or take someone down puts their body at a risk of injury. Another NFL player, Tony Boselli, also talked about players knowing their own risks of playing the game. He was also interviewed about the recent injury reports from different active and non-active players. He agreed with Sherman saying ‘ My whole thing about the concussion lawsuits is I question some of the guys in it and why they were in it- because we do know the risks (Smith).” Yet again another player talking about the players in the league knowing that the injuries are a part of the game. As mentioned before they can happen at any time, to anyone in any game. He goes on to say “I’m not saying the NFL has no responsibility, but I would put most of the responsibility on the players ourselves- because we choose to play the game. We know the risk (Smith).” Tony Boselli also agrees that every player chooses to play the game; no one is forced into it. And that it’s the job they choose, so they understand what they’re getting into.
The NFL has changed its rules on how a player can hit another player, trying to protect each player from injury. The league decided on many different new rules but the most emphasized was the placement of hits on a player’s body. In the league release of the new upcoming rules they stated, “Players must avoid hitting or blocking opponents in the head or neck area, or using the crown or hairline parts of the helmet to make forcible contact anywhere on the body (Operation.nfl.com).” The league believed that the change in rules would help cut down the rate of injury by stopping hits to the head; by not allowing hits to the upper body, it creates a higher risk of injury below the waist. Players are forced to have to go low and lead with their head and shoulders which can also hurt themselves just as much as upper body hits. Another pro player, D.J. Swearinger, talked about adjusting to the new hitting rules after seriously injuring an opponent by going low on a hit. He was interviewed after a game saying, “I’m sorry this happened. But you know, with the rules, I had to go low. And that’s something that I’m going to start doing now, you know, just to play within the rules (Fainaru-Wada).” Swearinger said this after blowing out an opponent’s knee during a regular season game. Players are forced to go low which causes more injuries below the waist than before the new rules were established. Players would much rather have the rules be the same as before, the new changes can end a player’s career. Pro Tennessee Titan, Michael Griffin, talked about low hits and the damage it can do to a player’s career. In an interview Griffin said, “I've had a lot of guys say, 'Just hit me high, just knock me out. I don't care, as long as I'd be able to play next week, I'm perfectly fine, but don't go low (Fainaru-Wada).” Players would rather deal with a concussion than a broken leg so that they could still play the sport they love. Adding the rules against high hits is unneeded because players will still get hurt regardless of where and how they can be hit. The rules the NFL had in place before the 2015-2016 season have helped the percentage of head injuries, but the serious career ending injuries are still happening without head injuries. The NFL needs no rule modifications because just adding rules will create more problems, and injuries will always be a part of the game.
Players that go through injuries benefit from help from medical facilities and doctors that specialize in helping with sport induced injuries.

The NFL for example has a system set up that helps active and non-active players recover from injuries and gives them benefits. In an article about helping injured pro players, former pro Junior Seau, talked about the leagues help after his career was over. He was asked about what the league did for his injuries, Seau said, “From a benefits standpoint, they’ve created a bunch of stuff on the players side for retired players, as far as neurocognitive studies and research, where it costs you nothing to go see these specialists” (Crow). The NFL gives there players not only a free, but effective way to treat different sorts of injuries that they may get along their careers. Players have resources to handle their particular injuries with professionals that can help make their careers as long as possible. Injuries are still a serious part of the game but with help from the league and doctors the players can still play without having to ban the game. The NFL also created the NFL Players Care Foundation, an organization helping retired players adjust to life after their careers and dealing with long term injuries. The organization’s goal in helping players is stated on their website saying, “The NFL Player Care Foundation (PCF) is an independent organization dedicated to helping retired players improve their quality of life. PCF addresses all

aspects of life by providing programs and assistance with medical, emotional, financial, social and community issues” (PCF). This group also helps players with injuries giving the players another source of help, which helps keep the sport alive. There are great systems in place to protect players and to prevent the shut down if the game.
Football players choose to play because of their love and passion for the game. Some even to provide for their families. Each and every player from a young kid, to an old aged veteran, choose to play knowing everything about the game. Even the dark side of the game that comes with injuries and failure. The game of football creates great opportunity for all its players and shouldn’t be shut down and forgotten. Players put themselves at risk, like many other people do every day. But those people, taking the risks is worth the reward.