The growing concern
Sports and athletics are essential to life itself, teaching individuals life lessons, how to overcome adversity, and the important concept of teamwork. Those who make it to the professional ranks are prime examples of those who worked hard to be able to make a living off physical activity. These athletes are put on the center stage; every single move they make is under a magnifying glass of society around them. With the introduction of social media, this increases the impact of the positive events that occur, and the negative events that occur in sports. This is why the rising issue of player safety in major sports is a growing concern for fans, league officials, and the athletes itself.
In modern day sports, player safety is becoming more and more of a priority with the recent medical studies and tragic incidents. With the players becoming bigger, faster, and stronger, this increases the risk of threatening injuries, which is a major concern for league officials which cannot be taken lightly. League officials have been doing their best to upgrade old safety procedures with newer, more efficient guidelines. However, doing so, these officials have been in question of whether they are going too far and tarnishing the integrity of the game.
There are two sides to this debate: the pro-safety side and the pro-integrity side. The pro-safety side claims that safety is the most important and there should be no limit to any amount of safety procedure that is put in place. (9) On the other hand, the pro-integrity side argues that there is a limit of what safety procedures should be enforced and that injuries are just in the nature of sports. This debate has sparked mass controversy and conversation amongst the media and throughout the sports leagues itself due to the growing concern of not only player safety but the stability of the sports.
In modern day sports, player safety is becoming more and more of a priority with the recent medical studies and tragic incidents. With the players becoming bigger, faster, and stronger, this increases the risk of threatening injuries, which is a major concern for league officials which cannot be taken lightly. League officials have been doing their best to upgrade old safety procedures with newer, more efficient guidelines. However, doing so, these officials have been in question of whether they are going too far and tarnishing the integrity of the game.
There are two sides to this debate: the pro-safety side and the pro-integrity side. The pro-safety side claims that safety is the most important and there should be no limit to any amount of safety procedure that is put in place. (9) On the other hand, the pro-integrity side argues that there is a limit of what safety procedures should be enforced and that injuries are just in the nature of sports. This debate has sparked mass controversy and conversation amongst the media and throughout the sports leagues itself due to the growing concern of not only player safety but the stability of the sports.
The Pro-Safety Side
The pro-safety side contains extremely strong arguments that are quite convincing. First of all, gruesome injuries are something that nobody wants to see. Sports are meant to be enjoyable and entertaining, and when athletes are harmed, it is saddening to the sports world. (9) Fortunately, league officials have made strides toward player safety. In the National Football League, there have recently been upgrades in equipment that protect athletes better, particularly the head. Strict guidelines have been enforced when dealing with athletes with concussions, as they are required to pass a test before seeing action to prevent further difficulties. In college baseball, teams were forced to switch to BBCOR bats because they were safer than the pure aluminum ones that were dangerous due to the speed of impact the ball could come off the bat. In the NBA, a ‘no-charge’ zone was created under the basket to decrease the amount of high-intense drives to the basket, where most injuries occur. (7) Those are just a few examples of the positive strides league officials have made that have made the game safer without totally ruining any major aspects of the game.
The Pro-Integrity Side
The pro-integrity side has equally strong arguments as well however. The NFL has been referred to by many critics as the “No Fun League”, due to its radical propositions of player safety procedure (5). The NFL has inserted new rules that have sparked controversy among players, coaches and fans concerning the integrity of the game being tarnished. These include moving the kickoff line up, which decreases the amount of exciting kickoff returns, calling an absurd amount of ‘helmet-to-helmet’ penalties that some even appear to be clean hits, and outrageous restrictions on hitting the quarterback. (1)The worst thing people want is for games to be put in the official’s hands rather than them be decided on the field. (5) This has been a problem as of recent as crucial calls have been deciding games. In the NFL, controversial roughing the passer calls have decided games unfairly. In the NBA and college basketball, there have been several blown calls concerning the ‘no-charge’ zone as incorrect calls have led to teams losing games. It is simply a flawed system that someone needs to take a stance on and draw a fine line between which safety rules are appropriate, and which ones go too far.
Unfortunately, it appears as this issue is not even anywhere close to being resolved. If anything, it is only getting worse as it goes along. The NFL is proposing extreme rules like changing the dimensions of the field, completely eliminating the kickoff, and eliminating any type of hit above the shoulder. The MLB is considering requiring pitchers to wear helmets which may be uncomfortable. (2) These proposals are extremely radical and are the reasons why so much of the Player Safety debate has been spread throughout the nation. Enough is enough, too far is too far, Former Ravens Safety Bernard Pollard said that he thinks the NFL won’t exist in 30 years because of the track of the safety procedures going in place. Player safety is the first and foremost priority of course, but there has to be a limit to what can be forced. Injuries are going to happen to matter what rule is enforced, its simply part of the game. This is why player safety is reaching its max protection in which the game’s integrity is not affected. If it goes any further, popularity amongst the major sports leagues may be withdrawn and substitutes may be sought after. After all, the fans are what keeps the league running. In order to continue to make millions of dollars the fans have to be kept happy. As of right now, most of them are on the pro-integrity side and they are being pushed to the brink of unsatisfaction.
Unfortunately, it appears as this issue is not even anywhere close to being resolved. If anything, it is only getting worse as it goes along. The NFL is proposing extreme rules like changing the dimensions of the field, completely eliminating the kickoff, and eliminating any type of hit above the shoulder. The MLB is considering requiring pitchers to wear helmets which may be uncomfortable. (2) These proposals are extremely radical and are the reasons why so much of the Player Safety debate has been spread throughout the nation. Enough is enough, too far is too far, Former Ravens Safety Bernard Pollard said that he thinks the NFL won’t exist in 30 years because of the track of the safety procedures going in place. Player safety is the first and foremost priority of course, but there has to be a limit to what can be forced. Injuries are going to happen to matter what rule is enforced, its simply part of the game. This is why player safety is reaching its max protection in which the game’s integrity is not affected. If it goes any further, popularity amongst the major sports leagues may be withdrawn and substitutes may be sought after. After all, the fans are what keeps the league running. In order to continue to make millions of dollars the fans have to be kept happy. As of right now, most of them are on the pro-integrity side and they are being pushed to the brink of unsatisfaction.