I Have No Idea How Much Longer Football Will Be Around…
…but there is too much evidence to ignore
On Friday, the New York Times published an opinion piece titled “I’m the Wife of a Former N.F.L. Player. Football Destroyed His Mind.” The article follows an increasing trend of former players and their loved ones sharing the extent to which brain damage has destroyed their lives after retirement. Its timing — just two days before the Super Bowl — is clearly no accident.
The years of articles like this most recent one, increasingly-damning research from medical agencies, and the complete refusal of the NFL to admit that there might be a link between professional football and CTE have finally convinced me that football has an expiration date. I don’t know how much longer the game will exist, but I believe that there’s a date in the not-too-distant future where American football either is no longer around or is massively, fundamentally different.
And to be clear, I’m typing this while I’m wearing a Green Bay Packers hoodie. I’m going to watch every second of the Super Bowl, just like I watched every second of the College Football Playoff. I’ll be as sad as any fan to see this sport go. But there’s just too much evidence to ignore. This game is in trouble.
At this point in 2018, it seems unnecessary to re-post every article about tragic player deaths or mental deterioration. The evidence that football causes brain injury is beyond comprehensive, and most discussions about payer safety today seem more interest in controlling the degree of damage than eliminating it completely, since a “safe” game of football is essentially an oxymoron. Football, at its roots, is dangerous.
This season, I watched Davante Adams of the Packers take two brutal, vicious hits to the helmet. He accepted a 4 year, $58 million contract extension this winter with Green Bay, one that he has unquestionably earned. But when I saw him and his teammates tweeting happy messages, I couldn’t help but feel a little concerned about his long-term health. How many more hits can Adams take before his brain is permanently damaged? Worse yet, has that already happened?
Antwaan Randle El, formerly of the Pittsburgh Steelers, is perhaps an example of the problems that might face Adams in the future. Randle El is currently dealing with brain damage, and has been quick to speak on it in recent years. In a famous article published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, he said:
“I ask my wife things over and over again, and she’s like, ‘I just told you that,’ ” Randle El said. “I’ll ask her three times the night before and get up in the morning and forget. Stuff like that. I try to chalk it up as I’m busy, I’m doing a lot, but I have to be on my knees praying about it, asking God to allow me to not have these issues and live a long life. I want to see my kids raised up. I want to see my grandkids.”
Perhaps even more important than the stories of these two elite athletes, doctors may soon be able to test for CTE (the main form of football-related brain damage) in the bodies of still-living athletes. Currently, the only way to test for this type of brain disease is only possible after death. If a living CTE test ever becomes a reality, it’s easy to imagine a future where parents pull their kids out of football leagues at a much younger age. Perhaps more athletes will retire in college. Or — perhaps most likely of all — they will opt for less dangerous sports like baseball, football, or soccer.
I don’t write this post to criticize the NFL or to prognosticate on the exact date that American football will cease to exist. I’m convinced that the sport will one day be gone though, even if I don’t know how far away that day is. As a fan, this saddens me. I love sharing the bond of watching football games with friends and family, and I’ll readily admit that there are few things in all of sports more beautiful than a touchdown pass thrown by Aaron Rodgers. But my viewing happiness isn’t nearly as important as the health of the thousands of football players around the nation.
I’ll watch the Super Bowl tonight, and every consecutive Super Bowl going forward. But I have become convinced that there won’t be Super Bowls indefinitely, so maybe we should all enjoy the ones we get to see. And if the demise of football means more living, healthy adults, it’s hard to argue that that’s much of a loss.
