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Currently, more than 3,500 former players and surviving family members are suing theNFL, essentially attempting to hold the league liable. I have no idea if the plaintiffswill win. I know they have a moral case. I also know that the various lawsuits—andanyone who cares about football should read a few—make it awfully hard for me tofeel good about the sport. It’s also hard to feel good about all the rationalizations thatgo into being an informed, socially aware football fan: Those money-grubbing, ambulance-chasing ex-players knew what they were gettinginto. Now they’re complaining? Tough luck. Why can’t they just leave football alone? OK, fine. They didn’t know. Today’s players do. And they’re fine with the risk. Whoam I to feel differently? Football is culturally irreplaceable. It teaches important values, like teamwork andself-sacrifice. It gives young men an outlet for aggression. You can suffer a concussion driving a car. Or riding a bike. Life is risky. Football isrisky. Sure, we should minimize the risk. But doing so is enough to keep on enjoyingthe sport, right?But here’s the thing about football, the thing that separates it from everything else,that makes the sport exciting, the thing that’s so hard for me to reconcile: The hitsaren’t accidents. They’re pretty much the YWHY-IBROKEUPWITHTHESPORT/2/)1 ROKE-UP-WITH-THESPORT/)/2 ROKE-UP-WITH-THESPORT/2/)/3/4 ROKE-UP-WITH-THESPORT/4/)/5 LTURE/FOOTBALLSAFETYBecome more interesting WHY-Ievery week!Get our Read Up newsletterBROKEUPEnter Your E-Mail Address WITHTHESign UpSPORT/4/)how we use your e-mailShareLike0Tw //www.rd.com/culture/footballsubject Footballsafety-MORE: Culture (http://www.rd.com/culture/) , Health Conditions (http://www.rd.com/health-conditions)SPONSORED LINKSSafety:why-i-Why Ibroke-Brokeup-Up Withwith-

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Join the discussion Barry Levy 2 years agoFunny thing is that Rugby plays a similar violent game without pads and helmets andnobody is that concerned, and then their is boxing, which has spawned Mixed Martialarts combat, and that is hugely popular.So let's ban 16 oz. soft drinks, and salt, and lets just control everything, and surprisepeople will still have problems and die.4 JYK98 Reply Share ›2 years ago Thank you, Mr. Hruby, for writing this timely article. I haven't been able to watchfootball for years ever since I found out how horrible the lives of ex-players are exceptfor the very few. Not everyone retires rich, and often many become destitute andunable to work due to football injuries. And NFL seems content to continue the useand-discard policy. Just think of the wasted lives of these young men in the name ofsports.8 Reply Share ›Sam197859 JYK98 2 years agoThey had a choice to engage in this sport and I do not see anyone putting a"gun" to their heads and forcing them to play. You feel for these players butthey did know the risk of playing.1 Dmuellenberg Reply Share ›2 years agoIf the author doesn't want to watch football, then that is his right, just like it's my right towatch or play football if I want to. That's the definition of a free country. If we try andban any sport that may cause an injury, then we are talking about every sport. Yes,football is more violent than most, but as the author pointed out, players know the risksinvolved. I don't understand how former players can blame the NFL for their injurieswhen they knew it was a violent sport and injuries are part of the game. Players aren'tplaying it just for entertainment, they are playing it for the big money they make, butagain, it's a free country and it's their choice.2 Reply Share ›Rudolph.A.Furtado 2 years agoEvery sport has its negative aspects which can be detrimental to the sportspersonshealth ."BOXING" and Mumhammed.Ali have become famous for the ill-eefects of asport and the same is the case in "AMERICAN FOOTBALL".Just because a sport ismore dangerous than another sport doesn't mean that it should be banned orboycotted. Isn't motogp or Formula-1 dangerous?3 cv Reply Share ›2 years agoI feel the same way about boxing. I wish there would be no boxing anymore1 Reply Share ›Bryson's Nana 2 years agoI know first hand what can happen to football players. My 17 year old brother died fromtwo brain concussions he received while playing high school football when his helmetcame off during a pile-up on the field. He didn't die right then.he started having verybad headaches about two weeks later. My mother took him to the doctor. The doctormisdiagnosed him as having a sinus infection. Did my brother tell the doctor about thehelmet coming off? That we don't know because my brother did not want my mothergo in with him while he saw the doctor. Unfortunately, my brother died while in anambulance on the way to the hospital after collapsing during a scrimage game on aSaturday morning about two weeks after seeing the doctor. My brother's autospyreport showed two brain concussions.one in the back of his head, and one in thefront over his left eye. Had my brother lived, and had he been able to survive theextensive brain surgeries that would have been necessary in 1962, the doctors told myparents he would have been left in a vegetative state. While all sports carry somedegree of danger, I feel that football is one of the most dangerous sports today. Yes,