For those old enuff to remember the 1970’s Dallas Cowboys, Tony Dorsett was one of greatest running back to play in the NFL. Today, I learned this superstar was diagnosed with “chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative condition that scientists have linked to depression and dementia”. Tony Dorsett is just 59 years old and has been battling depression and memory loss for a few years. Other NFL victims suffering from dementia are Chicago Bears QB Jim McMahon and NY Giants DL Leonard Marshall. Remember Mike Webster of the Steelers? He played center, hiked the ball to Terry Bradshaw. “Bennet Omalu examined Webster’s brain after he died. Omalu was shocked at the microscopic red flecks—a telltale sign of irreversible damage. Webster’s brain was shredded from repeated blows to his head over the years”.
We all know the sad ending of Junior Seau and how NE Patriots Ted Johnson is suffering from early Alzheimer’s disease. I recall Terrell Davis suffering a migraine headache in the Broncos/Packers Super Bowl, left the game in the 1st half and he came out in the second half to play to help Denver win.
Football is fun to watch but are human bodies designed to take such punishment? I attended a Patriots game and sat at the ground level once and I was shocked at the level of violence, the vicious collisions between the offense and defense. Mini car crashes as one described the hits on the field. And now after reading about Tony Dorsett, I believe it is time to rethink this multi-billion dollar industry. Seems to me the longer one plays football, the higher the risk for brain damage. Perhaps cap the number of playing years to five or seven, regardless of ability or history of concussions. Shorter NFL and college seasons may help too.
I love football as much as anyone, but I hope more players are like John Moffitt of the Denver Broncos, who told the team he isn’t coming back next week. Moffitt said “I just really thought about it and decided I’m not happy. I’m not happy at all. And I think it’s really madness to risk your body, risk your well-being and risk your happiness for money. Everybody, they just don’t get it and they think it’s crazy. But I think what I was doing is crazy.”
Good luck John, I hope more players listen to you, before they do permanent damage to their brain.
I went to school in Pittsburgh, and on a lark bought season tickets on the 50 yard line for Pitt’s 1973 season. Pitt had been in a slump for years, and the tickets were dirt cheap.
Tony Dorsett was a freshman that nobody had ever heard of. He literally tore up the field, running circles around the defenders — starting in that first marvelous game. The Panthers would cruise to a comfortable lead, and Tony Dorsett would taunt the defenders — he’d break through a hole, run thirty or forty yards past the closest defender, and turn around and dance on the 20 or 30 yard line, daring them to come catch him before he scored.
They never did.
It is sad to see such a marvelous athlete deteriorate so dramatically while still a relatively young man.
…with all these head injuries are the helmets really not adequate. Has something changed to make the game more dangerous now than previously?
Look at the historic weights of NFL linemen, for a start. Pure physics.
A helmet can only do so much.
Tony Dorsett retired in 1989, more than twenty years ago.
If anything, the equipment in use today is safer than when he played. We will have to wait until 2033 or so to see whether today’s NFL is safer or more dangerous than the league Tony Dorsett played in.
If that’s possible. They can change all the rules they want to try to eliminate hitting defenseless receivers, qbs, etc. But as was said up above, it’s pure physics. The players are MUCH bigger, faster and stronger on average than in the past.
Do little to nothing to prevent concussions, they are more designed to prevent a skull from getting cracked open…the can’t do much to stop a brain from bouncing around inside the skull, which is what is causing all the problems.
The injuries are not new, there’s just better diagnostics now and a lot more awareness/publicity.
Football has always been dangerous. It was the injuries, and sometimes deaths, in the 1920 and 1930s that necessitated the padding and helmets in the first place.
I find it interesting that soccer begat rugby (in England) and rugby begat football (in America) but neither soccer nor rugby requires quite the degree of safety equipment. Soccer is, technically a non-contact sport and while rugby is not non-contact, the game doesn’t allow for the forward pass which makes it inherently safer… In addition, the scrum doesn’t start until the two lines are in contact, rather than the yard or so of separation between the lines on the scrimmage. In rugby neither team ‘possesses’ the ball at the start of the scrum. So the offensive and defensive lines never have much opportunity to build momentum. When possession is gained in rugby it’s passed back to the quarter or half who, because the scrum is one big mass of man must run around them and cannot run through
All of this is turned around In football: the front lines start about a yard apart and make a distinctive clash each and every play. The running back (Dorsett for example) often starts the furthest back and runs directly into (or hopefully through) the oncoming defensive line. Running backs are often running at full speed into a corner or safety running at full speed the other way. The forward pass and the separation of lines at the start of play make the game inherently dangerous… and it’s always been this way.
What has changed is the explosion in fitness science, pharmaceuticals (legal and illegal) and medicine. This has made people both larger, fitter and much much stronger. A 300 pound man, twenty years ago, is not the same as a 300 pound man of today. Today’s footballer is not just bigger but also disproportionately strong because we know so much more about muscle mechanics, metabolism, injury prevention and recovery and nutrition.
I’ve always thought the football should move the lines closer, if not in contact, limit the use of the forward pass and maybe even institute weight classes, like what is done in boxing.
The forward pass was invented in large part to reduce collisions and improve player safety. It also eliminated the wedge formation. We can partially thank the University of Chicago (inventors of other dubious innovations like atomic energy and supply side economics) and it’s coach Alonzo Stagg for popularizing it 🙂
… I had forgotten the other distinction between football and rugby: tackling below the waist was allowed in the late 1800’s. In the absence of the forward pass, this kind of tackling turned the game into a brutal run-n-slug fest.
Great post, petr. Another consideration is tackling technique. In football, tacklers are taught to put their head in front of the ball carrier, or hit him head-on, and drive through the ball carrier. By contrast, in rugby, tacklers are taught to tackle more from the side, put their head behind the ball carrier if possible, and use their momentum to roll the ball carrier to the ground. Because football players wear helmets, and hit head on or put their head in front of the runner there are more head and neck injuries. The rugby tackling technique is safer–but no less enjoyable.
I find the passing game and fluidity of the NFL preferable to rugby which is almost unwatchable on television though a joy to play. Could that technique be adopted in the regular game? Seems worth a try. Also a 14 game season, reduced pre season, ending the London game, and elimating the kickoff and punt return would go along way.
All the facts have yet to come out in the Richie Incognito – Jonathan Martin issue, but here is a great article on Grantland: Man Up
He told me he hurt his neck at a football practice. So I told my kid, we will stick with soccer…
Petr- I would think making the football field wider, since the players are faster, would lower the collisions, perhaps make the game more wide open like Canada, more passing and less smash-mouth running. Go to 3 downs from the existing 4.
Tom- must have been sweet watching Dorsett at Pitt.
What is wrong with you? Won’t somebody think of the Children?