Schaefer 1

John Schaefer Commented [1]: Be sure to keep this draft for your
portfolio (don’t resolve the comments). When you
revise, I suggest copy and pasting your essay into a
College Comp 2 new doc

Stubee

Ethical

3/7/18

Football Safety

Football is one of the biggest if not the biggest sport in America. It spreads beyond the

country and touches many fans of all ages. Injuries have sparked a major controversy of whether

or not the sport is ethical or not. Some could argue that football is unethical and handing players Commented [2]: Well the sport itself isn't unethical, but
the system surrounding/running it may be. Does that
make sense?
harmful injuries. Some could also argue that football is a player’s choice and they can take the

risk if they please. It isn’t only the players that could be affected by this controversy. The NFL

has over 115,000 people employed and if the NFL were to be retired, many people would be

unemployed.(Parks, 2010, 1) Is this unethical as well? Commented [3]: Punctuation goes last ...unemployed
(Parks, 2010, 1). Otherwise, great job at remembering
APA!

Many football fans around the globe believe that football is unethical. Injuries occur way

too often and it takes a toll on players and their families. Steelers player Ryan Shazier took a hit

in the 2017 season against the Bengals in which he was nearly paralyzed from the waist down.

Shazier was a pro bowler caliber player and one hit in the sport he loves changed his life forever.

Football is a dangerous sport and many people believe that it is unethical of the people to let Commented [4]: Which people?

players take the risk of injury. The most common injuries in football are concussions, CTE, and

traumatic injuries. “A concussion is a change in mental state due to a traumatic impact and not
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all those who suffer a concussion will lose consciousness.”(Levine/Owens, 1) When a player is

taken out of the game due to signs of a concussion, trainers do their best to evaluate and see if

the player has a concussion or whether they can be sent back into the game. Most of the time

trainers can tell that a player has a concussion because players are usually “seeing stars”, have a

ringing in their ear, or having a headache. So for the most part trainers can tell right away that

they have a concussion, but not always. Trainers sometimes send injured players back into the

game and people believe this is unethical. The trainers are basically risking the players health

and well being for a game. CTE is another head injury that has been discovered in players that Commented [5]: Is it the trainers who are at fault? Or
the people putting pressure on the trainers to let
players back in?
have had serious head collisions over the years. CTE is Chronic traumatic encephalopathy,

which is the degenerative brain disease which evidence indicates is caused by brain trauma. The

effects of CTE include “memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, impulse control problems,

aggression, depression, anxiety, suicidality, parkinsonism, and, eventually, progressive

dementia.” This disease is very serious and many players have been diagnosed such as Terry

Long, John Grimsley, and Andre Waters. After seeing what the sport did to some of these

players, people around the globe believe that it is not right to watch players get injured and risk

their health for our pleasure. The contact some people believe tackling is unnecessary and it

should possibly turn into a flag football league. This could eliminate many head injuries and

overall injuries to players. If the NFL can not lower the amount of injuries that players face then

eventually people will figure out a way to stop it even if it means the end of the NFL.

Even though some people believe that football is unethical, people believe that it is just

the nature of the sport. Most players in the NFL love the sport and that is why they play. In the

end, money is on the top of the list. Players are willing to go out every Sunday and risk a serious
 Schaefer 3

life changing injury for money. They have such a passion and love for the sport that they risk all

that they have. The median salary of NFL players is $860,000.(Woodruff, 2018, 1) That is a lot

of money and it helps support themselves and their families. The average salary of a running

back is above 2 million dollars. Running backs usually is the position that takes most of the hits

and injuries. Players believe that 2 million dollars is definitely worth the risk. For example, in

poor neighborhoods the majority of people are usually African American. Football is a way for

young boys to get involved and possibly take the sport to the next level. This could help with

college scholarships and if they are really good then they could go professional. Football is a

way for poor families to find a living and that can’t be taken away from them. People also
believe that football doesn’t have to do with ethics is because it helps employ many people. The
NFL has over 115,000 people employed and football is how they make their living. Football is
just another sport that fans love to watch and kids dream of playing professionally. No matter
what kind of sport you play, injuries are always going to happen. Can’t people also say sports
Commented [6]: I think you need to slow down and
unpack this more. You are spinning this as a positive
(poorer kids and black kids get a way out of poverty),
but the other side of it is that often the only way for
poor kids and black kids to have a chance at "success"
is to risk their bodies and their health by playing sports.
Is that really a fair chance for them?
Here is an article that you might find interesting:
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2019/02/foot
ball-white-flight-racial-divide/581623/

like boxing, soccer, or horseback riding are unethical because of the amount of head injuries?

Football is just another sport that involves injuries and nothing can prevent that.

Over the years, equipment has evolved in a tremendous way. Back in the 1920’s players

used to wear leather caps as headgear. This led to many players getting seriously injured and

more likely than not dying of brain injury. In today's world, players use helmets with air cushion

technology to lower the impact of collision. As technology continues to grow, so will the safety

of the equipment. If the NFL was not making changes to lower the risk of injury than it might be

looked at as unethical but they have made rule changes and equipment changes to help lower Commented [7]: That's a fair argument

injuries. For example, kickoffs were a big controversy a couple of years ago because players
 Schaefer 4

were getting concussions on kickoffs that weren't even returned. So the NFL decided to make

rules to help stop this issue. One rule was that there are no more running starts on the kicking

team. This rule helped lower the speed and soften the collisions of players running into each

other. Another rule is that if a touchback was called then the ball would be spotted at the 25 yard

line instead of the 20 yard line. What this rule did is lower the amount of returned balls by kick

returners because on average a returned ball doesn’t go more than 25 yards. So there is a better

reward for just calling a touchback. So these rules are put in place to help lower injuries and is

the ethical thing to do.

After looking at both sides of the argument, it is safe to say that each side has an equally

strong case. Football is a sport that involves many injuries and players are at risk every time they

touch the field. On the other hand, football is just another sport that involves injuries and the

NFL is trying its best to help the players while still giving the fans the game they love. So is

football ethical? Commented [8]: Overall, really nice start here! I have
a few core suggestions that might help make your
paper even stronger.
My first suggestion is to clarify what it actually is that
you are evaluating. As you hinted at, football is just a
sport. It can't really be ethical or unethical on its own.
But you can talk about the treatment and safety of the
players as being ethical or not. If you keep the players
at the forefront of your paper, then I think your
paragraphs will have more cohesion.
I also think it would help if you spent a little more time
weighing what the other side has to say. I am NOT
saying that you have to agree with them, but at least
make sure that you are giving fair time to both sides.
Keep working hard!
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Works Cited

● https://www.patheos.com/blogs/rogereolson/2013/10/the-ethics-of-football/

● https://www.todaysworkplace.org/2010/12/03/nfl-lockout-could-cost-160-million-

115000-jobs/

● https://concussionfoundation.org/CTE-resources/cte-college-football

● https://www.stopsportsinjuries.org/STOP/Prevent_Injuries/Football_Skating_Injur

y_Prevention.aspx

● http://www.bu.edu/cte/about/frequently-asked-questions/

● https://work.chron.com/much-money-nfl-player-make-year-2377.html

● https://listaka.com/top-10-dangerous-sports-world/

● https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/nfl-football-players-with-cte/10/