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Head Injuries In David Weisman's Article 'Disposable Heroes'

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A Need for Change
Anticipation builds while players’ line in formation. Electric seconds pass while the quarterback yells the play. Shockingly, the players’ crash together in an explosion of energy, aggression, and sod. Televisions across America play this scenario over and over every Sunday during football season. Enthralled by the sheer athleticism and excitement of the sport, fans watch religiously, eyes glued to the screen. In the craze of the game are fans ignoring the risks, brutality, and casualties of the sport?
Acute head injuries are commonplace in the NFL. David Weisman, a neurologist and author for Seed Magazine, explains in his article “Disposable Heroes” some of the mental damages caused by football. Weisman expounds that …show more content…

Coaches drill players to tackle head first with as much force as possible. Though this is an effective strategy, it is also incredibly dangerous. In Nate Jackson’s article “The NFL’s Head Cases” he reports, “Some say players should block and tackle with the shoulder pads instead. Doing that means choosing a side, trying to hit the opponent with the left or right shoulder. That technique will get you cut by any professional team. It uses only half your body and half your strength” (Jackson 228). Helmets are made of hard plastic, increasing the impact achievable but also making it difficult to realize just how much your brain is “rattling around” inside your …show more content…

The NFL doesn’t take realistic solutions seriously, they simply continue to fine players and teams enormous amounts of money for “inappropriate” tackles and blocks. This turns into a vicious cycle, the NFL charging players for behavior their coaches are encouraging them to perform. How do we pull the sport out of this? What is the solution? Can we make this sport safe without ruining the thrill? Solving this problem involves not only educating the public, but also eliminating head-first tackles and providing better equipment.
Undoubtedly, football is a difficult, treacherous sport but currently no measures are being taken to improve players’ safety. Small things could make a big difference in the NFL. People are getting hurt before our very eyes, and we don’t do a thing about it, we should be appalled our lack of action and let it motivate us to make improvements and needed

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