Sports have become ingrained as a major part of modern society. Sports have many benefits; for instance they provide competition, exercise, entertainment and business. These factors make sports a key piece in the nature of society. This is especially true at the University of Michigan. I was able to attend the Michigan basketball game over break where they lost in a close game to Villanova. One of the most significant events of the game was when Michigan freshman D.J. Wilson suffered a knee injury.
One in Three NFL players suffer brain trauma in their career.
He is expected to miss 3-4 weeks, possibly even longer. Although the injury isn’t very serious, it got me thinking about the growing injury concerns in sports and the changes that are being made. In recent times, controversies
have struck the sports world. One of the more significant ones is whether some sports are proving to be too dangerous and if so, what changes need to be made.
The NFL is currently one of the most prominent examples in the causing safety concerns in sports. A tension has developed between making the game safer but keeping the nature of the sport intact. Concussions have always been an unfortunate side effect of playing football, but no one acknowledged just how bad the problem is until now. Experts have recently discovered that brain trauma from concussions are likely to affect one in three players in the NFL. This is an extraordinarily alerting statistic and demonstrates the need for change. Marc Tracy examines this phenomenon in his article, NFL Rules Changes: When Is Football No Longer Football?. He discusses several of the new rule changes being enforced. For example, running backs are now forbid to lower their helmets into players, the Pro Bowl game will no longer have kickoffs and tackling has been eliminated in preseason camps. Tracy believes that certain rule changes can be made to make the game safer, but football will never truly be safe. I tend to agree with his argument.
With the emerging safety concerns, can football be considered just as dangerous as base jumping or free soloing? Base-jumping is a sport in which a pilot leaps of from a fixed object and lands using a parachute. Free soloing is extreme rock-climbing where the climber is not attached to a rope. In Ed Caesars article, ‘It’s More Like a Suicide Than a Sport’ , he tells the story of the base-jumper Hervé le Gallou.
Is football just as dangerous as base jumping?
Le Gallou was a skilled “pilot” who fell to his death in 2012. In extreme sports like base jumping and free soloing, athletes understand the risk they’re taking on. Now that football players are learning the risk of their sport, will more players retire early or choose another career path? A recent example is NY Giants running back David Wilson decided to end his career after only two seasons. He was advised by doctors that playing again could permanently damage his health. I know it might sound ridiculous, but can we go as far to say that even football is “more like a suicide than a sport”. Earlier this month, I watched the Michigan club baseball team play against DePaul University. Unsurprisingly, there were no injuries during this game. It makes me wonder whether this non-contact game will soon be just as dangerous, or lack there of, as contact sports due to massive rule changes.
Touchdown Theory 
In my opinion, you never truly answer the question posed as your title: “Are sports worth the risk?” You do a great job of using multiple sources from in class readings to other sources. I like the detail and the talk about the dangers seen in football and other sports. This blog really makes the reader think about the point at which someone should stop, but you never give your thought or insight into are sports worth it. I would like to hear your opinion on the matter. Personally, I think they are worth it. There are so many great benefits from sports that just the safety hazards alone should not make people stop playing them. I love the competition and the bond you build with your teammates. I wouldn’t trade that for anything.
LikeLike
I don’t think it is fair to compare the dangers of football to the dangers of free soloing or base jumping. Football players are compensated ridiculous amounts of money for their efforts and is a lot less dangerous in my opinion than base jumping or free soloing. There is no base jumping league that pays base jumpers millions of dollars to base jump. Football players are payed to play football and know what they are getting into when they sign their millions of dollars contracts. I think that you are comparing apples and oranges and you have to analyze each sport when you think about if they are worth the risk.
LikeLike
I think football and base jumping are dangerous in different ways. Base jumping has worse consequences when things go wrong, and more people die in this sport than football. But it is also a much smaller crowd. Football has an extremely high number of nonfatal injuries, which may or may not make it comparable. The comment above seems to think of football as more of a job than a sport and this makes injuries in football less of a big deal, because the athletes are compensated heavily and know what they are getting into. I think it’s dangerous to think of sports this way, because of the high number of injuries. If an office job or construction job reported that 1 in 3 workers received brain damage something would immediately be done to eliminate this. If football is a job then it is the duty to the “bosses” to protect the “workers” from harm, and this would require changing the game. I think in sports you assume risks because it comes with the sport, and football needs to have that mentality to a degree.
LikeLike
BASE jumping or other dangerous sports were perceived to be life-threatening when it gained some popularity. Football is different. Although some people may jump into the sport after a sincere contemplation, most people, especially guys, just play it. We don’t sense much danger when we play football, and there is certain unspoken code of manner in the game. So, we must ask why the concern just arose. Why the game has been softened and rules have changed to make this sport safer. I think part of this is because professional football has become so popular that it became a business. This isn’t sports anymore. Everyone understands how much money is spent and goes through the football, from hot dogs in the stadium to TV broadcasting outside the stadium. To make this game more engaging, the star players must stay healthy, and, as more money is put in this sport, anyone related to the sport is concerned about the players’ health.
Now to the author’s question, it should be “yes” but with various reasons. Whenever people play sports, they have a reason to it, whether it is related to monetary concerns or for fun. Some people even tore their achilles or knees several time, but still play it. Now, are sports worth for risk? Yes! Everything has risk, and that’s just part of life. Then, how about the BASE jumping or extreme sports? Those who do it will say yes. And, when people participate in such an extreme sports, they are not just being irrational. They do understand the risk, and they are poised enough to control their impulses. Personally, there would be no way I would do BASE jumping because I think it’s dangerous. But, when we ask a question “is it worth the risk, is it worth for life,” those people who do it will say “yes.” And that’s enough for people to do whatever they want to do. (I think the question was rhetorical…)
LikeLike
The question proposed in the title was in fact rhetorical… I wasn’t trying to answer the question with my blog post, I was merely getting the reader thinking and interested. But if you want to know my opinion, I think sports are worth the risk. I think there are dangers in everything we do, and we must way the consequences vs. the benefits. I don’t agree that comparing these sports, is comparing apples to oranges. Just because there are different dangers associated with both, doesn’t mean they aren’t comparable. Also, just because there aren’t many fatal injuries in football, doesn’t make it safer than an extreme sport like base-jumping. Every weekend, numbers of players are injured in the NFL and College football. In comparison, very rarely are people injured in extreme sports such as base-jumping.
LikeLike