QUESTION ASKED: Is Tua Tagovailoa the Man Who Will Kill the NFL?
On Sunday, he’ll return to the field when the Miami Dolphins face the Arizona Cardinals. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell would never admit it, but he doesn’t want Tua to play. Not on Sunday, not ever again.
Because, if Tua takes another headshot, it would probably end his career. That’s bad PR.
Worst case scenario, it could kill him.
And that just might kill the NFL.
Not right away, of course. But then again, CTE doesn’t kill you right away, either.
Pro football is deeply entrenched in American culture, but there are troubling signs of erosion: The “kneeling” controversy alienated a percentage of fans, and for many different reasons, younger Americans are less likely to watch or play the game. It’s a sign of the times: Facebook is more popular than face masks.
But the biggest issue is the risk of brain damage.
In a recent survey, 92% of parents worried about brain damage from tackle football. And 91% doubted if helmets provided adequate protection.
If kids don’t play the game, in 20 years, there is no game.
In contrast, as Scott Pinsker writes: “When I was a kid, concussions were funny. It was kinda the football version of that pull-my-finger gag:”
In fact, all the way until 2006, ESPN featured a segment called “Jacked Up!” It was nothing but devastating, ungodly collisions — and concussions galore.
No hyperbole, folks. Check out this snippet from 2004. It’s less than two minutes long. Note how gleeful and giddy the hosts are:
Heck, the 1977 CBS NFL Today opening credits are full of clips that would get players permanently banned from the league today, but back then, this was considered the cheerful introduction to an afternoon of family-friendly TV viewing:
This 1977 CBS NFL Today intro is fucking spectacular. The plays get progressively more illegal and fucked up to the point I was almost expecting some guy to get murdered on the field by the end. Do yourself a favor and watch this.
— Super 70s Sports (@Super70sSports) August 26, 2024
That NFL is long gone; Pinsker wonders how much longer the league itself will go on. No wonder Roger Goodell was probably thrilled that all the kneeling and protests from 2015 to 2017 kept concussions out of the sports section for a few years.