[ What was unusual on Monday is that the full impact of Hamlins
injury was on display in the middle of the field during a primetime
matchup. Typically, players who suffer injuries are rushed off the
field so the game can resume as quickly as possible. This mentality
— "next man up" — is glorified in NFL culture. ]
[[link removed]]

THE NFL’S MORAL COLLAPSE  
[[link removed]]


 

Judd Legum
January 4, 2023
Popular Information
[[link removed]]


*
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
*
[[link removed]]

_ What was unusual on Monday is that the full impact of Hamlin's
injury was on display in the middle of the field during a primetime
matchup. Typically, players who suffer injuries are rushed off the
field so the game can resume as quickly as possible. This mentality
— "next man up" — is glorified in NFL culture. _

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) pauses as Damar Hamlin is
examined during the first half of an NFL football game against the
Cincinnati Bengals, Monday, Jan. 2, 2023, in Cincinnati., (AP
Photo/Jeff Dean)

 

On Monday night, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin tackled Cincinnati
Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins. It seemed, at first, to be a
violent but routine NFL play. Higgins hit Hamlin's chest with his
shoulder during the tackle, but Hamlin quickly rose to his feet. 

A few seconds later, however, Hamlin abruptly collapsed on the turf. 

Hamlin lay on the field, motionless, for ten minutes as medical
personnel administered CPR. Players from both teams kneeled, some with
tears streaming down their faces, while Hamlin was placed on a
stretcher and taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center in
an ambulance. As of Tuesday, Hamlin remains hospitalized in critical
condition.

The fact that an NFL player suffered a severe injury during a game is
not unusual. Among major sports, NFL football is by far the most
dangerous. A Harvard study
[[link removed]] published
in May 2017 found that "mean number of injuries suffered per game in
the NFL is approximately 3.4 times higher than the combined rates of
MLB, the NBA, NHL, and [the Union of European Football Associations]
combined." Concussions also occur during NFL games at much higher
rates. 

[[link removed]]

The real consequences of all these injuries are often opaque to fans.
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), for example, is a
"degenerative brain disease associated with repeated blows to the
head." One study of former NFL players' brains found 99% had
diagnostic signs of CTE
[[link removed]].
Symptoms of CTE include "depression, apathy, anxiety, explosive rages,
episodic memory loss, and problems with attention and higher order
thinking." But these symptoms do not fully emerge until after the
player retires
[[link removed].]. 

What was unusual on Monday is that the full impact of Hamlin's injury
was on display in the middle of the field during a primetime matchup.
Typically, players who suffer injuries are rushed off the field so the
game can resume as quickly as possible. This mentality — "next man
up" — is glorified in NFL culture. 

That reportedly was the initial plan following Hamlin's collapse on
Monday night. ESPN announcer Joe Buck said multiple times that players
were given "five minutes" to prepare for play to resume. Cincinnati
quarterback Joe Burrow was seen making warmup throws. 

[Twitter avatar for @bubbaprog]
[[link removed]]

Timothy Burke @bubbaprog
[[link removed]]

Joe Buck stated it on-air as fact four separate times so figuring out
who is lying should be pretty straightforward.
[[link removed]]

[Twitter avatar for @MySportsUpdate]
[[link removed]]

Ari Meirov @MySportsUpdate
[[link removed]]

NFL EVP Troy Vincent says the NFL never informed the teams they had
five minutes to warm up to resume play. That never crossed their minds
and he doesn't know where that came from.
[[link removed]]6:13 AM ∙
Jan 3, 2023 [[link removed]]

9,369Likes1,242Retweets
[[link removed]]

Many coaches and players, however, appeared to resist efforts to
restart the game. Ultimately, about an hour after Hamlin's injury, the
contest was formally suspended by the NFL. In a Monday night
conference call, NFL VP of football operations Troy Vincent insisted
the league never considered resuming play. "It never crossed our mind
to talk about warming up to resume play. That’s ridiculous. That’s
insensitive," Vincent said
[[link removed]].
ESPN said that it was in "constant communication" with the NFL, and
Buck "reported what we were told in the moment." 

Professional football, which features athletes repeatedly crashing
into each other for hours, will never be safe. But Hamlin's
catastrophic injury has put a spotlight on how NFL rules and customs
put players at even greater risk. 

NO GUARANTEES

The NFL generates over $17 billion in revenue annually, far exceeding
other major sports leagues like MLB ($10 billion) and the NBA ($8
billion). The NFL's enormous cash haul is made possible entirely by
the players, who risk their lives to create a spectacle beloved by
fans. 

But, with a few exceptions, NFL players, unlike other major sports
leagues, do not have guaranteed contracts. That means the players, not
the team, carry the financial risk of serious injury. Outside
linebacker Ja'Wuan James, for example, signed a four-year $51 million
contract with the Denver Broncos in 2019. On May 4, 2021, James tore
his Achilles tendon while training. Ten days later, the
Broncos released him
[[link removed]],
voiding the remainder of his contract. James then signed a two-year
$4.5 million contract with the Baltimore Ravens. But James tore his
Achilles again
[[link removed]] in
the opening game of the 2022 season. 

The lack of contract guarantees in the NFL incentivizes players to
play injured. If a player isn't consistently available, the team can
release him and suffer no financial penalty. This pressure is
particularly acute since the average length of an NFL career is just
three seasons
[[link removed]]. According to
the NFL Players Association, three-quarters of players are broke three
years after retirement. 

Guaranteed contracts are not prohibited in the NFL. In 2018,
quarterback Kirk Cousins signed "a three-year, $84 million fully
guaranteed deal from the Minnesota Vikings
[[link removed]]."
Last March, the Cleveland Browns gave quarterback Deshaun Watson "a
guaranteed five-year, $230 million contract." (Watson received the
deal despite facing sexual assault allegations from nearly two dozen
women.) 

But these guaranteed deals have been the exception. Yes, there are
many more players on a football team than on a basketball team, giving
each player somewhat less negotiating leverage. But why aren't most
top NFL players, who have multiple teams competing for their services,
able to negotiate guaranteed deals?

The NFL Players Association alleges "that teams and the league have
colluded to prevent clubs from offering players fully guaranteed
contracts
[[link removed]]."
According to the complaint, which was summarized in a leaked league
memo
[[link removed]],
“NFL owners and/or League executives discussed not agreeing to any
additional player contracts with fully-guaranteed salaries" during an
August 9 meeting. The NFL denies the allegation. 

While providing guaranteed contracts may result in NFL owners making
slightly less money, it could also make the game safer. Players would
no longer have to choose between taking care of their physical health
and their financial future. 

RULE CHANGES CHANGE NOTHING

The NFL has recognized the sport is too dangerous and, since 2002,
"has made over 50 rules changes intended to eliminate potentially
dangerous tactics and reduce the risk of injuries." 

Many of these rule changes
[[link removed]] are
highly technical, seeking to protect players without any noticeable
impact on the game. A 2015 rule change, for example, prohibits
offensive backs "from chopping a defensive player engaged above the
waist by another offensive player outside the tackle box." A 2006 rule
change prohibits "low hits on the quarterback… when a rushing
defender has an opportunity to avoid such contact."

A 2020 study
[[link removed]] examining rule
change over the previous 10 years, however, found that "new,
well-intentioned rules adopted every season by the NFL have been
proven to be too weak to make the NFL game safer." Despite the rule
changes, the "number of major injuries to the leg, back, arm and head"
to NFL players did not meaningfully decline. 

The authors of the study called for more robust protections for
players, including "prophylactically resting" players who receive
"multiple subconcussive hits" but are not yet clinically concussed.

_Judd Legum is founder and author of Popular Information, an
independent newsletter dedicated to accountability journalism. You can
reach him at [email protected]._

 

* NFL
[[link removed]]
* NFL Players
[[link removed]]
* worker injuries
[[link removed]]
* Job security
[[link removed]]

*
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
*
[[link removed]]

 

 

 

INTERPRET THE WORLD AND CHANGE IT

 

 

Submit via web
[[link removed]]

Submit via email
Frequently asked questions
[[link removed]]

Manage subscription
[[link removed]]

Visit xxxxxx.org
[[link removed]]

Twitter [[link removed]]

Facebook [[link removed]]

 




[link removed]

To unsubscribe, click the following link:
[link removed]