As the Super Bowl begins between the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens, there seems to be a call as to the safety of pro football players and head to head hits. PBS did a spot on their program a few days ago based on concussions and Junior Seau’s suicide.
Then there was Frank Deford’s essay on NPR where he referred to football as a bloodlust. Even President Obama chimed in saying that if he had a son, he would not allow him to play pro football.
While all this is being said, I wonder why no one is saying anything about Jack Tatum and Darryl Stingley. I would think that even today, this should be a concern not only to the NFL but to the players as well.
For those who don’t remember, it was August 12, 1978. Stingley was a wide receiver for the New England Patriots. During an exhibition game - not a regular season game - he went to make a catch and Jack Tatum lowered his head and hit him in the shoulder pad. Stingley went down and had to be carried off the field on a stretcher. He would be a quadriplegic for the rest of his life.
In the end, Tatum had to live the rest of his life remembering the hit that ruined Stingley’s life. At the very least, football players in the NFL know this bit of history since it happened 35 years ago.
Last year, there was a bounty scandal. Players and coaches on the New Orleans Saints were suspended for this. Yet players argue that they don’t want to be fined for a head to head hit.
As far as Dedford’s comments on football being a bloodlust, I would say to have a look at hockey. You have lots of fights and players going down from being hit against the boards or in some cases, being slashed by a hockey stick. There was a movie made about this called Slapshot.
Another claim is that boxing went downhill because of football yet no one will talk about the UFC. Certainly, that is a sport that is growing and even has national broadcasts on Fox 5.
At some point, you have to wonder when you just say players have to take responsibility for their actions and come to the conclusion that their hits can cause someone to be hurt. Seeing a player being carried off the field may make players remember what happened to Darryl Stingley 35 years ago.
in 2011, Buster Posey took a hit from Scott Cousins that knocked him out of the season for the rest of the year. His trainer referred to his injury as being a football injury. Yet fans said that the rule should remain the same and that it was a clean hit. Posey adjusted and learned to stay off the bag, making a big tag on Prince Fielder in the World Series even though one of the announcers, A.J. Pierynski, former catcher with the White Sox that year, said that Posey should have stayed on the bag and take the hit.
In the end, the fans don’t want the game to change and it probably won’t change even if something tragic happens again like it did on August 12th, 1978.
Rick Holman
Then there was Frank Deford’s essay on NPR where he referred to football as a bloodlust. Even President Obama chimed in saying that if he had a son, he would not allow him to play pro football.
While all this is being said, I wonder why no one is saying anything about Jack Tatum and Darryl Stingley. I would think that even today, this should be a concern not only to the NFL but to the players as well.
For those who don’t remember, it was August 12, 1978. Stingley was a wide receiver for the New England Patriots. During an exhibition game - not a regular season game - he went to make a catch and Jack Tatum lowered his head and hit him in the shoulder pad. Stingley went down and had to be carried off the field on a stretcher. He would be a quadriplegic for the rest of his life.
In the end, Tatum had to live the rest of his life remembering the hit that ruined Stingley’s life. At the very least, football players in the NFL know this bit of history since it happened 35 years ago.
Last year, there was a bounty scandal. Players and coaches on the New Orleans Saints were suspended for this. Yet players argue that they don’t want to be fined for a head to head hit.
As far as Dedford’s comments on football being a bloodlust, I would say to have a look at hockey. You have lots of fights and players going down from being hit against the boards or in some cases, being slashed by a hockey stick. There was a movie made about this called Slapshot.
Another claim is that boxing went downhill because of football yet no one will talk about the UFC. Certainly, that is a sport that is growing and even has national broadcasts on Fox 5.
At some point, you have to wonder when you just say players have to take responsibility for their actions and come to the conclusion that their hits can cause someone to be hurt. Seeing a player being carried off the field may make players remember what happened to Darryl Stingley 35 years ago.
in 2011, Buster Posey took a hit from Scott Cousins that knocked him out of the season for the rest of the year. His trainer referred to his injury as being a football injury. Yet fans said that the rule should remain the same and that it was a clean hit. Posey adjusted and learned to stay off the bag, making a big tag on Prince Fielder in the World Series even though one of the announcers, A.J. Pierynski, former catcher with the White Sox that year, said that Posey should have stayed on the bag and take the hit.
In the end, the fans don’t want the game to change and it probably won’t change even if something tragic happens again like it did on August 12th, 1978.
Rick Holman