From the New York Times (1, 2) and NBC Sports
Review by Ryan Fitzgerald in SRM 334 (section 2)
Our current event was on the impact of the media on the portrayal of concussions in sport. Recently many players have filed lawsuits against the NFL for negligent actions concerning concussions and the long-term effects. Starting in the early part of the 2000’s the media began to cover the issue and started causing rule changes in professional sports, due to the concerns expressed from players and fans. The media played a large part in speeding up the process of rule changes and how people viewed continuous blows to the head. As a result of multiple players committing suicide and realizing the long-term effects of blows to the head, the NFL has started a brain bank for players to donate their brains to be examined after they pass. This has allowed the media to pick about the findings in these situations and express their concern to the public. Without the media, the topic of concussions would not be seen as a serious threat to athletes.
As an athlete with multiple concussions, I feel the increased media coverage on the topic and the changes being made are important. Throughout the past decade or so, the media has picked up their coverage on concussions and the health concerns associated with them. Moving forward I feel many aspects of contact sports will change in order to eliminate constant blows to the head. My hope is that parents of young athletes realize and take into account the true damage concussions place on a developing child’s brain. I hope to see changes in adolescent contact sports and more research done on ways to help monitor when an athlete suffers a concussion.
Review by Matthew Kaiser in SRM 334 (section 2)
For our current event, Ryan and I chose to write about how concussions have impacted sport and the media’s role in that impact. Of the articles we used as evidence for our topic, the two that apply best were the articles on Bernard Pollard’s comments on how the NFL is changing the rules to try and remove such injuries and how he subsequently feels the sport will not last much longer as a result. This article basically talks about what Bernard Pollard said during the Super Bowl Media Day and how he feels that players getting faster and stronger completely contradict the direction the league is going in regards to player safety. The other article being President Obama’s comments about not letting his son play football because these injuries are so prevalent. In the topic of the Super Bowl, President Obama chose to speak on his worries about the game, specifically college. He feels the game should gradually change to ensure the health of its players.
I feel as though concussions will always be a part of sports, particularly football. There are subtle changes that can occur in other sports, but football there cannot be much without ruining the game. The emphasis on power and speed is greater than ever, so as players only continue to get bigger so will the collisions. Taking too much of the collision factor out of the game is basically turning it into flag football. This topic is relevant because it shows how big a role the media has played in changing the different sports. New rules are being pursued constantly in just about every sport, when a few years ago the topic was practically nonexistent. As the media stepped up its coverage of concussions and the long term effects that former athletes struggle with, we suddenly saw these games being altered to try and remove such injuries. Without the media, I’m not sure this topic is ever directly confronted like is today.
For our current event, Ryan and I chose to write about how concussions have impacted sport and the media’s role in that impact. Of the articles we used as evidence for our topic, the two that apply best were the articles on Bernard Pollard’s comments on how the NFL is changing the rules to try and remove such injuries and how he subsequently feels the sport will not last much longer as a result. This article basically talks about what Bernard Pollard said during the Super Bowl Media Day and how he feels that players getting faster and stronger completely contradict the direction the league is going in regards to player safety. The other article being President Obama’s comments about not letting his son play football because these injuries are so prevalent. In the topic of the Super Bowl, President Obama chose to speak on his worries about the game, specifically college. He feels the game should gradually change to ensure the health of its players.
I feel as though concussions will always be a part of sports, particularly football. There are subtle changes that can occur in other sports, but football there cannot be much without ruining the game. The emphasis on power and speed is greater than ever, so as players only continue to get bigger so will the collisions. Taking too much of the collision factor out of the game is basically turning it into flag football. This topic is relevant because it shows how big a role the media has played in changing the different sports. New rules are being pursued constantly in just about every sport, when a few years ago the topic was practically nonexistent. As the media stepped up its coverage of concussions and the long term effects that former athletes struggle with, we suddenly saw these games being altered to try and remove such injuries. Without the media, I’m not sure this topic is ever directly confronted like is today.
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Our current event was on the impact of the media on the portrayal of concussions in sport. Recently many players have filed lawsuits against the NFL for negligent actions concerning concussions and the long-term effects. Starting in the early part of the 2000’s the media began to cover the issue and started causing rule changes in professional sports, due to the concerns expressed from players and fans. The media played a large part in speeding up the process of rule changes and how people viewed continuous blows to the head. As a result of multiple players committing suicide and realizing the long-term effects of blows to the head, the NFL has started a brain bank for players to donate their brains to be examined after they pass. This has allowed the media to pick about the findings in these situations and express their concern to the public. Without the media, the topic of concussions would not be seen as a serious threat to athletes.
As an athlete with multiple concussions, I feel the increased media coverage on the topic and the changes being made are important. Throughout the past decade or so, the media has picked up their coverage on concussions and the health concerns associated with them. Moving forward I feel many aspects of contact sports will change in order to eliminate constant blows to the head. My hope is that parents of young athletes realize and take into account the true damage concussions place on a developing child’s brain. I hope to see changes in adolescent contact sports and more research done on ways to help monitor when an athlete suffers a concussion.
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