Catholics and football

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pnewton said:
I want not part of it, and will oppose it. I am all for safety, but not for stopping football. If the Church has not condemned a thing, then I do not see any such agenda against that thing being successful, or needed.
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Yeah, we would have a little problem with the legacy of the University of Notre Dame, not to mention with Fr. Heilman who wrote half of a 54-day novena around Vince Lombardi. Which always makes me chuckle because it reminds me of “Vince Lombardi High School” getting blown up in that movie starring the Ramones. I’ll confess I wasn’t a jock. But I don’t support getting rid of all things football.
 
I had to look it up to get the joke, but once I did, it was quite the hoot.
 
Thanks everyone for the interesting insights. Agreed that people will do what they want, and that there are some benefits to playing. It’s hard to change behavior when the risk is so invisible and decades down the road.

I think my issue is wondering whether people really know what the risk looks like/feels like.

So education seems to be the key. And yes, people should be allowed to play if they understand the risk. I get pretty heated about this topic and want to spare others the pain, and sometimes forget that people will do what they will do and that’s free will. And free will is a good thing that requires a lot of responsibility.

I’ve started drafting some articles for op-eds.
Have no time to write a book but am thankful for the movie concussion. It’s a good one.

Thanks for helping me clarify my thinking!
 
I understand that there are a lot of young men who were on a football team who regard it as a great learning and formative experience. Perhaps that is because the attention, money and adulation poured on them brought in the really good coaching, practice techniques etc.
I even dared to ask my kids’ high school principal about it on FB - why is a Catholic high school damaging the brains of its young men? (And other body parts).
I am in total agreement with the OP.
I also understand that high school coaching is of higher quality now, but middle school is where the brain damage is more likely happening.

 
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Amalie said:
I think my issue is wondering whether people really know what the risk looks like/feels like.
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I live on the continent where football means soccer, and I don’t know about what is called football in the US, but there is certainly a rising awareness in another sport known here for its CTE risks, rugby. Youngsters are sensitized to it and are taught to minimize the risk. Protocols have been updated too – it wasn’t always the case, but now, if you’re suspected to have a concussion, you’re out until you’re recovered (which may mean for several games as a concussion diagnosis is only definitive after 48 hours).

Players are asked to sign a declaration specifying they understand the risks of repeated concussions and what may happen to their brains if they hide their concussion symptoms in order to get back on the field sooner.

To my knowledge, the risk of CTE isn’t limited to (American) football, but exists in most contact sports, like boxing or hockey. Ideally, CTE awareness should be increased in each of them.
 
I live in Canada. I have fallen on the ice and hit my head, and so has my brother. Both of us received concussions. Life isn’t safe and football isn’t safe. If your father wasn’t playing football, he might have chosen hockey and had the same result. Or he might have fallen off a ladder while changing a light bulb. I’m not convinced we can protect people from themselves.
 
I am a British person of a certain age, who remembers Vinnie Jones and Paul Gascoine, but have no memory of this incident
 
I played American football from a little boy through high school and wonder if it was truly worth it, because now at age 62 I have chronic back problems from getting hit too hard too many times by the helmets of opponents.

While I enjoyed scoring touchdowns in high school and the accolades (attention, name in newspaper sports page, awards, being captain of team, more attention from girls, etc), if I could go back in time and exchange all that for being healthier today, I would do it in a heartbeat.
 
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Fun is often underestimated after the fact. You had a lot of FUN!! playing football and it is now part of who you are today. Do you still watch football with good memories?

Everybody has health problems in their sixties. Better to have back pain than other illnesses, because it’s somewhat controllable via exercise. Maybe you need to find the right sport, such as swimming, to ameliorate the back pain today. I’ve at times been unable to even walk around the block due to back pain. What I’ve learned about it is to ignore it and still play tennis, cycle, swim right through the pain.

I’m in my fifties and my scoliosis is getting worse, but what does that have to do with fun? Nothing. I started watching football when I was 48 and I think it’s a fabulous sport! We need young guys to play it. I’m grateful there are young men willing to play it.
 
Well, there are certainly lots of other sports that don’t require the same degree of risk of brain damage. Shrug
 
My suggestion is to read The Last Lion, a trilogy about Winston Churchill by William Manchester. You will see he became ninety despite illnesses, being hit by an automobile, smoking, being a soldier, being a POW, drinking, flying in questionable circumstances etc…

None of us gets out of this world alive, and if we can brighten it for others by playing football, we should.
 
Lara said:
My suggestion is to read The Last Lion, a trilogy about Winston Churchill by William Manchester. You will see he became ninety despite illnesses, being hit by an automobile, smoking, being a soldier, being a POW, drinking, flying in questionable circumstances etc…

None of us gets out of this world alive, and if we can brighten it for others by playing football, we should.
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Oh, did Churchill play American football? 😂 Then he might have been plagued by brain damage. He might not have been such a great leader if he had CTE.
That’s a cute idea, though, that we should encourage young men to incur brain injury so we can be amused by watching football. After all, it’s not like there are any other sports to watch?
 
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Of course there are risks with anything: a basketball player can fall and hit their head on the court, and a soccer player can smash heads with another soccer player when going up for a header. But that is different from a sport where smashing into other players’ heads with heavy equipment is actually an integral part of the game.
 
They’re taught how to minimize the risk of injury. Say there was no more football. Then this forum would have started picking on some other sport.

Funny thing, I find cars a lot riskier than being in football. All the parents worried about football were, pre-Covid at any rate, driving their kids to soccer, chess, and all sorts of activities, putting them in harm’s way each day. When I step into other people’s vehicles I notice how often they make driving errors, and even focus on their GPS instead of driving.

I say let’s live with some risk. As Catholics, we know there is a better place to which we are headed.
 
I don’t know if it can apply to football but in rugby,after several very serious injury cases across the years , the UAR( national rugby association) revised the scrum. There was an issue with the scrum and how it had become dangerous vis á vis these cases.
So, instead of doing away with the sport, how it is taught, practiced and played was revised so as to improve and reduce injuries.
I know nothing about American football though , only just having watched games.
 
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I think some schools are trying to improve the safety, but articles I have seen say that the worst quality of coaching and safety is at the younger level, like middle school / Jr. high.
 
I wish. My dad committed suicide because of CTE. it’s a terrible thing
 
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