By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    improving patient experience
    6 Ways to Improve Patient Satisfaction Within Hospitals
    December 1, 2021
    degree for healthcare job
    What Are The Health Benefits Of Having A Degree?
    March 9, 2022
    custom software development is changing healthcare
    Digital Customer Journey Mapping and its Importance for Healthcare
    July 21, 2022
    Latest News
    5 Steps to a Promising Career as a Healthcare Administrator
    August 3, 2025
    Why Custom Telemedicine Apps Outperform Off‑the‑Shelf Solutions
    July 20, 2025
    How Probate Planning Shapes the Future of Your Estate and Family Care
    July 17, 2025
    Beyond Nutrition: Everyday Foods That Support Whole-Body Health
    June 15, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    Health Care Inflation
    May 17, 2011
    Uninsured, and Lovin’ It
    June 10, 2011
    Health Care Reform in 2 Short Sentences
    July 21, 2011
    Latest News
    How IT and Marketing Teams Can Collaborate to Protect Patient Trust
    July 17, 2025
    How Health Choices and Legal Actions Intersect After an Injury
    July 17, 2025
    How communities and healthcare providers can address slip and fall injuries with legal awareness
    July 17, 2025
    Let Your Lawyer Handle the Work Before You Pay Medical Costs
    July 6, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Football, Safety, Health and Our Society
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > News > Football, Safety, Health and Our Society
News

Football, Safety, Health and Our Society

Craig Koniver
Craig Koniver
Share
7 Min Read
Image
SHARE

Image

The NFL has received a lot of press and attention in the last few weeks: Peyton Manning signing with the Broncos, Tim Tebow being traded to the Jets and the New Orleans Saints Bounty scandal.

Image

The NFL has received a lot of press and attention in the last few weeks: Peyton Manning signing with the Broncos, Tim Tebow being traded to the Jets and the New Orleans Saints Bounty scandal.

More Read

symptoms of a brain injury
Most Common Signs of a Brain Injury After an Accident
5 Health Benefits of Cycling Worth Talking About
Mississippi Becomes Bolder with Anti-Abortion Legislative Push
7 Natural Remedies for Stress
More Retiring in Other Countries

As a society, we love football. We love the NFL–it is the most profitable of all the professional sports and head and shoulders above the other leagues. The interesting facet to me is that the very sport we put on a pedestal is the most violent one, causing the most short term and long term injuries.

Here is an interesting article about why the NFL is like the tobacco companies. We like the hitting and we like the violence. We pay a lot of money every year to continue supporting more and more of it.

And so the New Orleans Saints “Bounty Gate” peaked my attention, not because of what actually was going on, but because of the reaction to it. I listen to sports radio when I am driving and for the most part, the reaction seemed to consistently be: football is a violent game but football players are motivated more out of a desire to play hard and win then motivated to get a big hit, injure a player and make a few thousand dollars.

Throw into the mix the current state of the game where there are forces at play to make the game as “safe” as possible that run side by side with the push for greater technology to make the equipment better. The very football helmets that players use are the most potent “weapon” of the game.

I will be upfront with you: professional football is my favorite sport. While I am a sports fan in general, there is nothing like football Sunday. So from where I sit, I want the NFL to succeed and do super well (like it continues to do every year), but I am also conflicted. Football is entertainment, but that entertainment usually comes with somebody else paying a price (I just returned from watching The Hunger Games where that idea is even more true).

To help me understand this more, I interviewed Derek Abney, All-American receiver/ kick returner for the University of Kentucky and former NFL player.

CK: What do you make of this talk about bounties? Was that going on when you played?

DA: As a team, we certainly had incentives, but our objective was never to hurt anyone. Football players are motivated to hit hard because that is a part of the game. The idea is to hit as hard as you can to get the job done.

CK: Do you think the NFL is striking a balance with limiting injuries and promoting the sport at the same time?

DA: I do. I think the NFL has rules in play to limit unsafe hits and strives to promote clean play. I think, as well, for the most part that the NFL players want the game to be clean and want to hit hard in the spirit of play. But, football is a hard-hitting sport. And so every football player knows that there is a chance of injury.

CK: The game has been played for a very long time, but it seems only recently that we are more focused on injury prevention–what do you make of that?

DA: Pro football careers are very short and are getting shorter and shorter. We now have guys who are stronger and faster and bigger than years ago and so the dynamics of the game has changed on that level. A big problem is that when you increase how fast and strong a player is, you really cannot speed up or even change the recovery time when a player does get hurt.

CK: How do you explain our society’s gigantic interest in such a violent sport?

DA: I think we really enjoy seeing action. It’s interesting, but it seems that as a society we are moving to a place where we promote more “fairness” and “everyone gets a chance” at the same time we are falling more and more in love with the hard-hitting NFL. This is just an observation, but I wonder if that promotion of fairness, etc. is then resulting in an outlet for people rooting for more and more violence from the sidelines.

——–

What to do?

I liked Derek’s observations and I think they are spot on. As physicians we seek out health and promote health on many levels with our patients. But privately, most of us are probably rooting for more action and more hits on the playing field.

We want health to be fair and even, yet when we root for our favorite team, we want them to be the ones causing the biggest hit.

I think we are reaching the precipice in terms of health and violence in sports and society. The great observation by Derek Abney seems to ring true: the more we promote this type of fairness in sports, the more as a society we seem to be promoting the violent sports.

That concept alone has great health implications. What do you think?

 

TAGGED:footballsports injuries
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

technology in medical research
The Tools Helping Medical Researchers See the Full Picture
News Technology
August 3, 2025
5 Steps to a Promising Career as a Healthcare Administrator
5 Steps to a Promising Career as a Healthcare Administrator
Health
July 31, 2025
holistic dental
Holistic Dentist Services Are Natural and Safe
Dental health Specialties
July 28, 2025
botox certification
Help Improve People’s Skin Health Via Botox Certification
Skin Specialties
July 22, 2025

You Might also Like

Ribs on BBQ
NewsPublic HealthWellness

Meat and Mortality: Does Eating Meat Decrease Your Lifespan?

March 10, 2013
Infectious Diseases
NewsUncategorized

5 Tips to Minimize Workplace Liability from Infectious Diseases

June 16, 2021
EHR deadline pushed back HIS
eHealthMedical RecordsNewsPolicy & LawPublic Health

CMS Pushes EHR Meaningful Use Deadline Back One Year: What It Means For You

January 3, 2014
tips on finding the right power wheelchair
HealthMedicareNews

Aspects to Consider When Selecting Power Wheelchairs

September 12, 2022
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?