Head injuries have always been a concerning topic in the NFL. After Junior Seau’s death last May by committing suicide, talk about the correlation of traumatic brain injuries and death skyrocketed. After this event, many former players sued the NFL due to the lack of information given to players about the long-term effects of head injuries and concussions. In early January this year, the autopsy of Junior Seau showed that he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a disease caused by multiple and continuous blows to the head. From this discovery, researchers examined the brains of deceased, former NFL players. Scientists discovered that 31 out of the 34 brains they looked at had stage three or four CTE including players such as Dave Duerson, Cookie Gilchrist and John Mackey.
Social media allows for people to ask questions, give advice, and speak their mind about this topic. There are signs of concern about this topic as many parents have children playing football. The NFL is going to contribute money to researchers to discover how to prevent these types of head injuries. Teams are also going to have neurological specialists on their sidelines to give evaluations of players that get concussions during games. Hopefully the rule for allowing athletes to play post-concussion gets stricter as research shows detrimental, long-term side effects of head injuries and concussions. --- Review by Matt Dumblauskas in SRM 334 (section 3)
Concussions have emerged as a major safety issue in football during the past couple of years. This article addresses some of the steps that the NFL is taking and has taken in the past to help prevent or reduce the number of concussions. Recently the NFL has partnered with Boston University and is willing to give $1 million or more to fund independent research projects to help find a solution to this concussion problem. The article also mentions that NFL alumni association is encouraging players to donate their brains to help with the research process. The NFL is also is investing in independent research that can give insight into how helmets can be more protective. This includes how the helmet is worn and used, along with the make of the helmet.
In the past the league has been cautious about concussions, but has not looked into fixing the problem to this extent. When a player used to get a concussion, the team waited for symptoms to decrease and then that player was eligible to play. Now that all of this research shows a lasting effect of head trauma, I think that the game will change. I do not think that players will necessarily play the game differently because playing the game to their top potential is number one on the list of priorities for most players. That being said I do believe that the style of play will be taught differently at a young age. I also feel that these new steps are going to cause more parents to not let their kids play the game. The media aspect of this topic allows the spread of concussion awareness and is helping to spark a change. With the recent death of Junior Seau and the fact that his brain had CTE, the public is starting to look for answers. We as viewers do love to see big hits, but we do not want to see our favorite players being severely injured or even dying due to head trauma complications. Fans are now using social media to ask questions and show concern.
From The Independent Review by Matt Nasca in SRM 334 (section 2)
This past week, on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2013 Olympic and Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius was involved in the murder of his current girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. She shot multiple times through a locked door while she was in a locked bathroom. The gun that was used to shoot her belonged to Pistorius and they were the only two that were known to be in the house at the time. The exact details and the trail have yet to start but currently Pistorius is sitting in a South African jail awaiting his bond hearing, which will most likely be set at a very high amount because the prosecution is trying to charge him with premeditated murder. So while we wait for he trail to begin and for the actual facts to come out, the media is having a field day coming up with all sorts of theories and reasons why Pistorius did what he did.
This should make you wonder where exactly they are getting their facts. Pistorius is currently locked in a South African jail and the only legal document to be released about the incident is an affidavit by Pistorius basically saying that he thought Steenkamp was an intruder in his house and that is why he shot her. The media did not seem to mind coming up with their own ideas. There were unconfirmed rumors about a possible ‘roid rage attack on his girlfriend which is what killed him, ignoring the facts that he got tested repeatedly for the Olympics and Paralympics. They said he used a cricket bat to beat her when he said he used the bat to pry open the door after he shot through it. The media also claimed she was having an affair which led to the murder.
All these stories are currently just rumors the media has started. So you must ask yourself, how good is the media? They are tarnishing Oscar Pistorius’ image based on an incident that no one knows the truth to just yet. Can Pistorius still be considered “innocent until proven guilty?” What happens to his reputation after the trial if he is found innocent? The media is getting viewer’s attention at the unfortunate expense on Oscar Pistorius. I am not saying that he is innocent or guilty, but I think the media should wait for the facts before they report on the case. Again if he ends up being guilty, because of the media he will always carry that negative image with him.
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Review by Charles Higby in SRM 334 (section 2) This article goes over the facts and spins the media has provided of Olympic “bladerunner” Oscar Pistorius and death of his former girlfriend Reeva Steencamp. Since her death, Pistorius has been the center of negative media attention that created a horrible image in the public eye. Due to South Africa’s slow paced justice system, reporters have released multiple reports filled with accusations about Pistorius even though police have not issued any statements or spoken with media sources. These accusations have been repeated so many times that many who look to media sources for information have come to believe these rumors as facts. The allegations include a bloodied cricket bat, a secret love triangle, and even the role of steroids in a “roidrage” attack when in fact the only statements released by South African police were that there was a shooting accident involving Pistorius and his lover, she was dead, and the athlete had been charged with murder. The article also states in order to hold back the wide range of negative coverage, Pistorius hired PR expert Stuart Higgins who represented him during the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics. Their main concern is that in this charged environment with most of the world’s news media reporting the story, the athlete will not receive a fair trial. The involvement of Mr. Higgins in this case can be seen as an example of the British news media’s power in influencing a global story. In my opinion, the media’s role in this case has already done its part in ruining Pistorius’ image, but due to a single judge making a decision on solely the facts of the case, I believe the trial will be fair and just. This article is relevant because it provides an example of how the media can take a major sport story with minimal facts, and use the power of media to influence and persuade its audience one way or another.
From The College Fix and Huffington Post Review by Eric Southard in KIN 332 In the article, “Paying College Athletes: Not If, But How”, Rachel Cohen and Ralph D. Russo discuss the controversial topic of should college athletes be paid and if so, how should they be paid. Being a big supporter of paying college athletes, I was happy to read that Mark Emmert, President of the NCAA, is finally starting to realize that college athletes should receive some compensation while attending school. Emmert supports a stipend for these athletes, a stipend that would cover costs beyond tuition, books, and fees, which the athletes’ scholarships currently cover. Both coaches and players agree that college athletes should be paid, mainly stating that these athletes have no time to find a job and are always busy with school and their individual sports. They compare being a student-athlete to working a full time job.
The biggest impact sports marketing has on paying college athletes is through the television deals and all the money these deals generate for the universities. In the article, Cohen and Russo talk about the lucrative TV deals the NCAA recently agreed to for football and men’s basketball. To broadcast the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, more notably known as “March Madness”, CBS and Tuner Sports agreed to a deal with the NCAA that is worth on average 770 million dollars a year. As for the new college football playoffs, which starts in 2014, the NCAA agreed to a television deal worth around 470 million dollars annually to the conferences. Instead of using all this money towards increasing the salary of college coaches, upgrading facilities, etc, the money should be put towards stipends to pay the “workers”, the ones who actually generate the money, the athletes.
