More than 100 former NFL players filed a lawsuit this week, alleging the league did not protect players from brain injuries with links to concussions sustained playing the sport.
The allegations have coincided with a New York debate, where the motion to ban college football was discussed.
A vote was taken at the beginning and the winners were the side which had improved its share of the vote from the starting numbers.
The team advocating a ban won, engineering a complete reversal in the audience voting patterns.
A large part of the discussion was devoted to claims that college football in America distorts the educational mission of the institutions.
This is not really a major issue for university sport outside the US since it doesn’t play such a significant role in many other countries.
Elsewhere, however, the discussion focused on the health risks American football players run.
The allegations of the former NFL players came just days after the suicide of Junior Seau, an NFL All-Pro linebacker who retired from the game two years ago.
It is alleged that Seau was suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative disease which can be brought on by continued head traumas
It seems the only real way the disease can be diagnosed is after death.
It was notable that Seau shot himself in the chest rather than the head. This has made it possible to for his brain to be studied.
Last February, another player Dave Duerson did the same, and a post-Morten revealed CTE.
It’s not just American football which has come under the microscope recently for health reasons.
In ice hockey, especially in Canada, teams often have an enforcer. Rarely a skilled player, the enforcer’s job is it to take part in fist fights on the ice, in what are essentially pre-arranged duels.
In the sumner of last year, three enforcers died suddenly.
28-year-old Derek Boogaard died from a drug and alcohol overdose while he was recovering from a concussion.
A post-Mortem revealed he had also developed CTE. 27-year-old Rick Rypien committed suicide and 35-year-old Wade Belak seems to have done the same.
Ice hockey and American football are two pillars of professional team sports in the United States. The idea that health concerns might undermine their role would have seemed far-fetched even relatively recently.
Now, however, the threat is being taken more seriously.
Some football litigants are being advised by Thomas Girardi, a top class-action lawyer who oversaw the case featured in the film Erin Brockovich.
This led Slate magazine to openly ponder whether pro-football might become “the next big tobacco”.
This is something all team sports outside the United States should be watching closely.
The US is a huge sporting market but it has been difficult for even a global behemoth like football to gain traction there.
It’s not quite a zero-sum game, but it often seems like something needs to give in the traditional sporting mainstays, to free up some space for other sports.
Will America football lose its lustre? It’s hard to imagine, but it’s not impossible.
Then again, even a small slip might just leave the door ajar for other contact sports such as the two rugby codes and AFL.
Union arguably has an edge but there’s no reason other sports can’t entertain thoughts of building a more significant base.
All should now have an active strategy in place, especially if colleges do begin to review their football programmes.
The other message all sports should be heeding is the potential damage from litigation.
They need to ensure their own houses are in order and address any outstanding issues of player welfare.
Johnno
Guest
Ian I am sorry to tell but the USA has a professional rugby league comp. Jacksonville axemen are one of the teams. USA rugby league now has a pro comp look it up, it is one of my Johnno facts that are right. And word has it a rugby union pro comp is coming to USA too at last I can't wait.
Lucan
The strange thing about the AFL's stance is that it puts the onus entirely on the opponent. If the AFL was genuine about the head's “sacrosanct” status it would charge all players with the responsibility. I know this flies in the face of everything players are taught, where putting one's head over the ball regardless of the danger is a requirement not an option, so we won't see changes any time soon.
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
Ray, One thing you need to know about this site is there are facts, and there are Johnno Facts (tm). Johnno Facts (tm) are things Johnno has made up to strengthen his argument. An American professional rugby league competition is a Johnno Fact (tm).
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
Rugby Fan, Theres an interesting comment from Doug Smith, the goon the film was based on, in this brilliant article in Grantland http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7754609/a-qa-doug-smith-having-hockey-career-immortalized-film-goon "Look at Sidney Crosby. He got body-checked and he's out of hockey. Sidney Crosby should not be out of the game because someone took a run at him. If there's a guy on Crosby's team who's there to kick your ass if you take liberties against him, you might have second thoughts before running him into the boards. There's a reason Steve Yzerman and Sergei Fedorov had such long, brilliant careers — because Bob Probert and Joey Kocur had their backs. You take a shot at Yzerman, you're going to get the s**t kicked out of you. Might not be the same night, but Probie's going to get you in the next game. You need that guy on the ice."
Rugby Fan
Roar Guru
Thanks Paul. I recently saw the Canadian film "Goon" - a comedy about how a bouncer becomes a leading enforcer. I'd never heard of that part of the game and assumed that the fighting was just one of the film's exaggerations. It was only when I was checking some of the reviews that it dawned on me that mutually-agreed brawls were a reality. Rugby has tried to eliminate violent play over the years . Legal liabiliy is an increasing concern at all levels of the game. The most common argument against it is that parents won't encourage their kids to take part in violent sports. Serious foul play and fighting in both rugby codes can lead to lengthy playing bans.
Ray
Guest
what professional rugby league comp?
AIS
Guest
College football was big before the professional format even existed. Division 1(The top tier of College) Football, alone, consists of 346 University teams across the US. A lot of those teams have larger attendance than NFL teams and the others are either on par or just below. College sports were broadcasted successfully decades before ESPN ever existed. Also, the fanbases don't overlap that much as College Sports have a much greater reach within the country. That's just the way it is in the USA where they take school sports very seriously. Every Friday during the High School Football season, there are more people at the games than there are at many NRL games in Australia(and I'm serious). "Rugby league now has a pro comp in the USA" This is too funny. There are no pro RL competitions anywhere outside of the British Isles and the NRL. There never will be.
Paul Busch
Guest
I have a blog - http://itsnotpartofthegame.blogspot.ca/ - that presents arguments on why fighting should be eliminated from hockey, and the negative impact that it has on the game. So far the NHL has shown no concern for concussions due to an illegal activity (approx 4% of concussions are caused by fighting) or for the many that are cause by normal play. They have publicly stated that they continue to study the situation and make changes as necessary. This false sense of security may result in them being surprised if a class action suit is filed. There are lots of former players out there who played before today's protocals were put in place. Sending a player back out onto the ice after a concussion was commonplace and specific medical treatment was rare a decade ago.
Johnno
Guest
The USA sports landscape is changing as is Australia's as we all bravely usher in the new era of globalisation. Some facts Many say colleger football is a constraint of trade, they the players should be paid and i agree. Bring in a NFL youth league or privatise college football and basketball and let them be paid , or bring in pro under 20 rugby union in the USA. Rugby league now has a pro comp in the USA. Rugby is gaining momentum via the sevens.
Rugby Fan
Roar Guru
College football in America, which was basically a form of rugby,was threatened with a ban early last century because the violence led to deaths. That's what prompted rule changes including the introduction of the forward pass. College football rivals the NFL for crowds (although the supporter bases inevitably overlap). Europe and Australia don't really have any sports with a similar structure. ESPN did a great deal to promote college football and basketball. They didn't have the contracts for major sports in their early years and so filled up their airtime with college matches. They could do this because a 1984 court decision alowed schools and colleges to negotiate their own rights, rather than be dictated to by the NCAA, who limited broadcast product. This was a masterstroke for ESPN because they had the free airtime and it turned out there was an enormous untapped audience. ESPN College GameDay has now been running for 25 years and has become an institution. TV rights contracts alone for the various regional conferences can now bring in tens of millions of dollars manually for each member college. If there is ever a sea change, new sports obviously couldn't automatically inherit the fanbase or the income but you can envisage the kind of hole it would leave in college sports programmes and broadcasting schedules. Something would start to fill the gap.
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
Oh yeah, and its not just about players with brain damaging suing sports I like. Its also about players getting their lives wrecked because of brain damage.
Norm
Guest
I lived in the US for 8 years. College football is quite a buzz. But I preferred baseball for it's cultural, historical & social aspects. Much like AFL/Aussie Rules in Australia. Oikee has no idea about the US - but keep reading those media beat-ups, my friend :-)
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
Oikee, Actually *read* the article. Think about lawsuits due to concussions and brain damage, and the various codes having a duty of care for their employees. This isnt about sports replacing American football in the US. Its about players with brain damage suing the absolute crap out of the AFL, the ARL, the ARU and anyone else who paid them while ensuring a dangerously unsafe workplace. Directors, including those of the Brisbane Broncos Ltd ACN 009570030 , can go to jail for this. http://www.nationalohsreview.gov.au/NR/rdonlyres/6826B553-F8C4-417E-BEF6-7B8EBB473A98/0/Paul_Harpur_part_2.pdf
oikee
Guest
The AFL wont take off in America Ian, not with players going head first into a ruck. You only need to look no further than Jonathon Brown to realise the yanks would be in hotter water with a 360' game that would attrack more lawsuits. It is the reason they also banned rugby union many decades ago. The stomping and back injuires caused by scrums and neck injuries. Rugby league is perfect for them, a full bodied contact sport where as i keep saying, the head is a protected species, we like to keep our ugly monsters looking good. The 120 to 130 kilo monsters would be perfect for the yanks, they are starting to warm to this entertainment through Origin and the superleague and NRL beamed into America. They love it. This adress also indicates that the yanks are already making a play for rugby league. The sports companies are jockeying for rugby league. I mentioned a few years ago America was the third pillar, the Burmuda triangle of rugby league, we needed a third outlet. America is that outlet. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/grand-prix-entertainment-expands-acquires-american-national-rugby-league-2012-05-11
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
Note the AFL is being active in changing rules for player safety, with the principle of 'the head is sacred'. Im expecting other codes to follow suit, because the liability is definitely there.