Get rid of the pads, longer time outs after a concussion, a maximum number of concussions before forced retirement, solid education of players on the effects of repeated TBIs, high pay for athletes to compensate for that risk, high quality healthcare for those that do suffer injuries, and of course nationalize it so that the profit motive doesn’t fuck with the rest of those things
Oh and do ban it for minors, that shit’s fucked. High schoolers can play flag football but tackle football has to go
There are professional athletes worth hundreds of millions of dollars who kept playing sports at the top level, even though they had no cartilage in their knees for instance. Or played through horrific injuries lunch as damaged or torn ligaments. Or even both, like Zlatan Ibrahimovic in his last AC Milan stint, played with no ACL and needed injections for knee pain. Luis Suarez is going to Inter Miami so he can play football with his old teammates one more time, even though he has an extreme amount of visible scar tissue on his knees from all the knee surgeries he got.
Professional athletes at the top are just at a different level. They will absolutely lie about concussions or convince their coaching staff to do so so they can play more. They probably already so in sports with concussion protocols.
Yeah, at some point there’s only so much you can do to protect people from themselves.
You can put up railings, put up signage, and educate people on the risks, but if people climb past the railing all you can do at that point is take care of them if something bad happens
I knew kids, like teens but still kids, in highschool who were gymnasts and “chose”, for whatever that means for a kid, to go on diets that meant they didn’t have periods, and to compete in floor on broken ankles and wrists. Kids. Professionals, I agree, definitely will lie.
Nationalization might improve coach pressure on players, but I don’t see how you can square “even higher pay” with athletes being willing to report concussions that will force them to resign. Median NFL salary is almost a million dollars; people are just going to lie to keep their jobs. Guarantee some sort of pension? Either it’s too little, so they under-report, or it’s too much and they do soccer-style overacting for an easy retirement. You have to do so much to salvage this sport, it’s like trying to make boxing safe.
Honestly people would still not report. Playing sports at the professional level isnt the same thing as working as a mechanic. People who do that really love playing their sport. Getting rich doing it is a bonus.
Yeah, at some point there’s only so much you can do to protect people from themselves. Have the safeguards and education in place, and if people really want to climb over the railings all you can really do is take care of them afterwards.
A big problem is they basically pull kids from highschool, give them vast amounts of money with no guidance, then dump them. Afaik most pro sports people blow through all their money in a few years and often have no job skills.
Get rid of the pads, longer time outs after a concussion, a maximum number of concussions before forced retirement, solid education of players on the effects of repeated TBIs, high pay for athletes to compensate for that risk, high quality healthcare for those that do suffer injuries, and of course nationalize it so that the profit motive doesn’t fuck with the rest of those things
Oh and do ban it for minors, that shit’s fucked. High schoolers can play flag football but tackle football has to go
Then they’re just not gonna report them. Sports are big money
There are professional athletes worth hundreds of millions of dollars who kept playing sports at the top level, even though they had no cartilage in their knees for instance. Or played through horrific injuries lunch as damaged or torn ligaments. Or even both, like Zlatan Ibrahimovic in his last AC Milan stint, played with no ACL and needed injections for knee pain. Luis Suarez is going to Inter Miami so he can play football with his old teammates one more time, even though he has an extreme amount of visible scar tissue on his knees from all the knee surgeries he got.
Professional athletes at the top are just at a different level. They will absolutely lie about concussions or convince their coaching staff to do so so they can play more. They probably already so in sports with concussion protocols.
making a sport your whole life and identity needs to go if you want to stop that shit
Yeah, at some point there’s only so much you can do to protect people from themselves.
You can put up railings, put up signage, and educate people on the risks, but if people climb past the railing all you can do at that point is take care of them if something bad happens
I knew kids, like teens but still kids, in highschool who were gymnasts and “chose”, for whatever that means for a kid, to go on diets that meant they didn’t have periods, and to compete in floor on broken ankles and wrists. Kids. Professionals, I agree, definitely will lie.
Nationalization might improve coach pressure on players, but I don’t see how you can square “even higher pay” with athletes being willing to report concussions that will force them to resign. Median NFL salary is almost a million dollars; people are just going to lie to keep their jobs. Guarantee some sort of pension? Either it’s too little, so they under-report, or it’s too much and they do soccer-style overacting for an easy retirement. You have to do so much to salvage this sport, it’s like trying to make boxing safe.
Honestly people would still not report. Playing sports at the professional level isnt the same thing as working as a mechanic. People who do that really love playing their sport. Getting rich doing it is a bonus.
Yeah, at some point there’s only so much you can do to protect people from themselves. Have the safeguards and education in place, and if people really want to climb over the railings all you can really do is take care of them afterwards.
A big problem is they basically pull kids from highschool, give them vast amounts of money with no guidance, then dump them. Afaik most pro sports people blow through all their money in a few years and often have no job skills.