Injuries have always been a part of sports; it is the risk athletes take. Injuries are just a part of life that athletes have to deal with. Especially with the increasing size and speed of the players (Carroll and Rosner 42). By playing, they acknowledge they could break bones or tear ligaments. But many do not know that their brain could be severely damaged. Over the past decade, head injuries have become the biggest problems facing sports, especially the National Football League (NFL).
Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) which is caused by concussions plague many athletes because of on-field injuries. American football is the main focus of the current concussion problems in sports. Research has shown that playing football often causes …show more content…
Fox Sports aired a NFL “promo that featured only brutal hits with a voiceover blaring, ‘The hardest hits are on Fox!’ (Carroll and Rosner 40).” TNT (Turner Network Telivision) ran an ad displaying “a battered football player seated on the sideline in obvious distress, his mouth covered by an oxygen mask (Carroll and Rosner 40). This is completely harmless until you read the caption. “Shortness of breath. Nausea. Disorientation. Memory loss. The fun begins at 8 P.M. Sunday night (Carroll and Rosner 40).” This TNT was using concussion symptoms to promote a football game instead of warning the fans and players. The NFL was later sued by former players for incidents like these and hiding the concussion problem. Today, the NFL has taken many steps to correct this by founding programs like Heads Up Football to minimize concussions (Health and …show more content…
Players were not warned of the severity concussions would have later on in life. Instead they were told by coaches, trainers, and even doctors to “Get back out there. It’s just a dinger (Carroll and Rosner 10).” In reality these “dingers” would cause severe memory and personality problems. Over five thousand players are suing the NFL for hiding the effects of concussions (CNN.com). Team doctors would overdose players on painkillers like Vicodin and Percocet so the players would be able to playUSETHEBOOK. The physicians would many times return a football player to the field just minutes after he had sustained a concussion. However the players are not entirely guiltless either. Thousands of players hid their concussion symptoms from doctors in order to keep playing. But players also knew being sidelined by concussions could be labeled “injury prone” and lose their position on the team. But in 2015, the NFL was sued by former players who claim that their teams made them excessively use prescription painkillers. “The new lawsuit alleges that several former head coaches and assistants… told players they would be released if they did not take painkillers and return to the field (SI.com).” The lawsuit is similar to the one filed in May 2014 in U.S. Northern District in California by 1,300 former players when they claimed that the league obtained and administered the drugs illegally without prescriptions
Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) which is caused by concussions plague many athletes because of on-field injuries. American football is the main focus of the current concussion problems in sports. Research has shown that playing football often causes …show more content…
Fox Sports aired a NFL “promo that featured only brutal hits with a voiceover blaring, ‘The hardest hits are on Fox!’ (Carroll and Rosner 40).” TNT (Turner Network Telivision) ran an ad displaying “a battered football player seated on the sideline in obvious distress, his mouth covered by an oxygen mask (Carroll and Rosner 40). This is completely harmless until you read the caption. “Shortness of breath. Nausea. Disorientation. Memory loss. The fun begins at 8 P.M. Sunday night (Carroll and Rosner 40).” This TNT was using concussion symptoms to promote a football game instead of warning the fans and players. The NFL was later sued by former players for incidents like these and hiding the concussion problem. Today, the NFL has taken many steps to correct this by founding programs like Heads Up Football to minimize concussions (Health and …show more content…
Players were not warned of the severity concussions would have later on in life. Instead they were told by coaches, trainers, and even doctors to “Get back out there. It’s just a dinger (Carroll and Rosner 10).” In reality these “dingers” would cause severe memory and personality problems. Over five thousand players are suing the NFL for hiding the effects of concussions (CNN.com). Team doctors would overdose players on painkillers like Vicodin and Percocet so the players would be able to playUSETHEBOOK. The physicians would many times return a football player to the field just minutes after he had sustained a concussion. However the players are not entirely guiltless either. Thousands of players hid their concussion symptoms from doctors in order to keep playing. But players also knew being sidelined by concussions could be labeled “injury prone” and lose their position on the team. But in 2015, the NFL was sued by former players who claim that their teams made them excessively use prescription painkillers. “The new lawsuit alleges that several former head coaches and assistants… told players they would be released if they did not take painkillers and return to the field (SI.com).” The lawsuit is similar to the one filed in May 2014 in U.S. Northern District in California by 1,300 former players when they claimed that the league obtained and administered the drugs illegally without prescriptions