This paper will discuss the NFL Concussion Scandal and analysis of the ethical issues regarding the scandal. American football has always been defined as a contact sport. Individuals know before playing the sport that they take on the risk of physical harm to their bodies. However, concussions and other repetitive head-blows could end in death and permanent damage. Also, American football has been shown to be the cause of chronic traumatic encephalopathy(CTE), which can lead to suicidal thoughts, memory loss, and dementia. With players undergoing a lot of physical harm without the proper care, many may see the NFL as an unethical business. In 2014, data was collected that showed NFL players endured 182 reported concussions in regular …show more content…
Would you call yourself a person of high moral character if you were to watch and participate in national gladiator exhibitions every Sunday? With the recent comparison of the NFL to gladiator exhibitions, many fans also questioned if they should support the NFL. Gladiators or football players are sent in to arena’s knowing that they could have their brains, backs, joint, knees and other body parts completely injured. Not only are the players putting themselves in a postions for their morals to be questioned, but individuals that buy tickets and continue to support the sport are also looked at as not being someone that truly cares about the ethical issues. However, the root issues are the NFL commissioners and leaders that continue to allow the sport to be played in a violent way without giving the players all the help that they need. The NFL has decided not to directly address the mental health problems of current and former players in fear of negative publicity and financial consequences league wide. Also, they have not compensated players for their injuries or put in enough time or effort to improve the conditions for players. These things are deemed unethical, because in a sense by being injured, these players are being stripped of their freedom to do things the way that they want. Also, the NFL is putting the greed for money over the health and well being of the community. Even though, the NFL does bring in a lot of money for the economy, should we
Even though football players are aware of the dangers the game can bring upon them, they take part despite it. The passion, the joy it creates; for professionals it’s also the devoted fans and compensation they receive is what keeps the players motivated. Today players are much bigger, faster, smarter, bigger, better. The game is more physical. The sport has never been so competitive. The popularity has reached new peaks, as much that the NFL has thoughts of moving a team to London, England. Additionally, Super Bowl XLVII (47) was one of the most watched television events of all time; an astonishing 108.4 million viewers (The Associated Press). Fans worship their teams and love to see big hits. Football is a contact sport; injuries are no
I would also recommend that the NFL consider how to support the athletes and families that have already affected through their suppression of imperative information. Perhaps, the league could financially support the health of athletes affected by NFL-induced mental disorders.
Multiple deaths from a degenerative brain disease, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, is what the true culprit of the NFL is. This disease is caused from repetitive blunt force trauma to the head, leading those who are effected to struggle later in life and even turn to suicide. People are writing about these safety concerns in football nowadays because of the multitude of deaths related to this disease and the way the NFL choses to deal with it. The NFL disregarding its players is a subject at hand currently because people continue to suffer from CTE without even confirming they have it before they have already deteriorated. “Football Has Become Too Real to Watch” by television writer, Eric Buchman, describes these realities of the NFL and how it went from being a safe haven to a place where the NFL pretends to be oblivious to the realities of the game. Buchman’s argument is that the joy of football is gone due to the reality of current issues within the NFL. The NFL getting away with awful things is what Buchman wants the reader to take away from this article. His contribution to this debate is that he offers a perspective of the fans for why this issue is important without any biases towards the NFL.
The spectator of this sport has an obligation to the players of the sport, to make sure that the organization is protecting and looking out for them. Yet not only should the viewer be held accountable for the lack of communication in consequences between the player and the pro scene, but the organization of the NFL needs to make sure that their players have a full understanding of what is going on and how they need to protect the players. The current situation that is understood, contents contain implied knowledge that all parties of this table are in uniform knowledge and agreement to what comes of playing football. Finally, this should also happen at the youth level when kids are just getting into the sport, as it would better inform the parents and the kid if they understood the full
The NFL rationalized that it’s okay to take a chance on a handful of people’s lives, such as the football players, for the greater good of the community. Rationalization is another ethics trap found throughout this movie. Dr. Ronald L. Hamilton
An increasingly popular topic in the realm of sports fans has begun to unravel. The National Football League recently has begun to introduce new rules and regulations for their athletes to start abiding by to ensure the continued safety of the player’s health. Although most find this change in the game of professional football as a positive step forward, others see this as a diminishment of the sanctity of NFL football. New rules and regulations that have been introduced into NFL are vital to athletes involved in the sport and help them to play with lowered risks of long term injuries that could possibly affect not only them but also the league in the future as well. The reasons for these
The NFL has produced a product that has caused long-term brain damage and needs to be liable for the compensation due to its victims. In a recent article titled “A Brain Gone Bad” finding by Dr. Bennet Omalu and Dr. Robert Cantu, case studies of the
Many memories are made in football, but sadly some of the greatest players cannot recall them. The National Football League has been associated with concussions and brain traumas throughout the years, but lately it has been exposed by media and NFL veterans. The league recently “reached a $765 million preliminary settlement with thousands of former players who were suing the league over its treatment of concussions…” (Waldron). Many former players are experiencing the effects of taking hard hits over and over again; they were not properly treated, which makes the injury worse and long term. The concussion issue in the NFL is more prevalent today, because it affects not only the players, but the league as a whole.
ESPN explains that their employees are supposed to be respectful and responsible and represent the NFL’s values and the permissible actions that are done for the good of the league. It has been brought up that the league should dismantle its current personal conduct policy and just leave it with the bare minimum, general rules. “This bare essentials policy allows the justice system to deal with substantial behavioral breaches by players” (Goff) so that the NFL can be removed from any decision-making or investigating involved with a player’s personal conduct issues. By removing the NFL from these positions of authority, it will return the power to the “criminal justice system [which should] [have] primary responsibility” (Goff) over the players; this way the NFL does not have to worry about their players’ actions every second of every day. One cannot argue that the concept of allowing the justice system to take care of any conduct issues that arise in the NFL is not such a disastrous idea. Sometimes the league is too involved with player, even team, problems which can cause turmoil among the media and fans because the league accomplishes all they can to keep their players safe and more importantly, maintain the positive image of the
Thesis- I want you to better understand concussions, why they’re a problem in the NFL and what measures are being taken to prevent them.
Concussions are the most common head injury that can occur while participating in sports. “A concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury. When athletes sustain concussions, their brains stop functioning properly as a result of trauma. Perhaps the simplest way to think of a sport-related concussion is as a temporary dysfunction of the brain caused by trauma Even though there are some people who symptoms of having a concussion will seem obvious”(Meehan). There are over 250,000 concussion injuries reported each year with football players alone. High school football players experience at least one concussion during their season each year. Sport related concussions are most likely to witness by someone, they are usually mild, sometimes to never
The number of concussions in professional and amateur football has been rising and has sparked much controversy in recent years. These concussions are most likely linked with disease and even the deaths of some pro and semi-pro football players. New research is attempting to solve the problem but the issue is still prevalent in football today.
Over the past little while I have researched and learned quite a bit about the NFL and fan to fan, I'd like to share with you my findings. First off, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Robbie Wolanski, proud fan of the Green Bay Packers, and avid football fan. I'm sure that when most of you think about the NFL you think about watching your team on Sunday, big hits, and Tom Brady. Let me give you something else to think about. Is the NFL a perfect corporation? Do they have any issues? Today I will be answering this and going into detail about the NFL.
Concussions in the National Football League are up to its neck with brain injuries. Players have endured an estimated 182 reported concussions during regular-season games this 2016 season. The league has revealed a 58% rise since the 2014 season and is at an all time high over the span of four years. What is a concussion one might ask? Webster dictionary defines a concussion as, “a stunning, damaging, or shattering effect from a hard blow; especially: a
Whether it be baseball, football, soccer, or basketball, sports are appreciated not only in America, but all over the world. One of these sports that is particularly popular in America is Football. The immense crowds of people who sit at a stadium or on the couch to watch a game never fail to recognize every single play on the field; however, many fans pay little to no attention to one of the most important components of the game, the player-association relationship. When signing a contract with an NFL team an NFL player is effectively dedicating his life to his new organization. His duty is to play for his team in order to make the organization money, and money they make. In the NFL last year “each team received $226.4 million” (Brady 1).