NFL
By: Brock Vierra
The incident involving Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin during a broadcast of Monday Night Football shocked the nation. The stunned silence of fans displayed a bad situation, but the severity of it was captured through the tears of Hamlin’s fellow teammates. A shocking moment unable to be truly put into words was given context when ESPN went to the Scott Van Pelt show, tasking the host to deliver some reprieve. I found myself in tears listening to the words of Ryan Clark regarding Mr. Hamlin and the game we love so much.
This incident is the most jarring thing I’ve witnessed in football, but the response of the medical staff isn’t something new. Whenever an ambulance is on the field, it’s always a worry, but you think everything is gonna be okay. I witnessed Donald Parham, Darrell Taylor, and Saivion Smith all taken off in ambulances in the past 16 months, and all are back or on track to return to the field. Players are stretchered and carted off all the time, and injuries are commonplace in such a violent sport.
But now we’re talking about someone’s life, a man who is much more than the game he plays, and this game has given so much to so many, but it takes as well. It’s taken away the ability to walk, as in the cases of Daryl Stingley, Mike Utley, Dennis Byrd, and Eric LeGrand. We’ve witnessed spinal injuries, as in the cases of Johnny Knox and Ricardo Lockette. This game has led to the near amputations of Alex Smith and Zach Miller, and through a lifetime of injuries, Jim Otto has lost his leg as well.
We understand and have documented evidence of CTE, and other brain injuries caused by this game. Injuries that contributed to the deaths of Junior Seau and Mike Webster, amongst others. The pain associated with this game has led to rampant opioid drug use and the distribution of cortisone shots like candy.
This game which takes so much, lacks justification of the mass participation in America. Our young men willingly play this game; I willingly played this game, and for what? This game is just a game, so why do we do something so reckless?
Let’s set aside the points of potential financial gain, the ability to attend college on scholarships, or the amount of scholarships football offers compared to other sports. Why do we continue to play a game that clearly takes years off people’s lives?
Because testosterone is rampant and humans are dumb. Why did I play the defensive line? Because I wanted to sack the quarterback. Because the glory of the gridiron and the chance to go into literal battle with your brothers is an alluring fantasy that trumps all potential pain and/ or lifelong effects.
What happened to Damar Hamlin is tragic. It’s awful. It’s so bad I’m struggling to find the words to describe how awful it is truly but that split second of which I questioned whether this sport should be legal vanished in an instant when I remembered that this game isn’t built for humans.
People used to die playing this game on a routine basis during its infancy. The forward pass was created to literally prevent death from the run-based game of long ago. Helmets aren’t designed for brain protection but to prevent our necks from cracking. We put on literal pieces of armor to play this game, and no matter what we do to protect our players, this game will never be safe.
And that is something I find so hard to accept. I love this game so much, and I wish I had started playing it sooner. I love and respect all the players that play this game. I love scouting, evaluating, and talking about this game. I love this game, and I’m not alone in this thought. It just sucks that the fear that strikes all of us when a player goes down when an ambulance is called to the field is a part of this game. The worst part is, like this game, these horrific injuries will never end, and that’s the part that I’ll never be able to accept. Get well soon, Damar; we’re all pulling for you.
