The N.F.L.’s Head Cases
By NATE JACKSON
NYT
AFTER an unusually large number of brain-jarring tackles last week, the National Football League went on the offensive against players. Commissioner Roger Goodell doled out a total of $175,000 in fines to three players and threatened future suspensions for what a league official called “devastating” hits to the head.
As someone who played in the N.F.L. for six years, I’m all for reducing reckless play as much as possible. But the league’s effort to police particular kinds of hits raises plenty of questions. For instance, what if I lead with my head to make a tackle and knock myself out? Do I get suspended for that? What if I lead with my head and no one gets hurt? What if I hit an opponent with my shoulder and knock him out? What if I hit him in the rib cage and puncture his lung? What if we’re both going for the ball and I catch him under the chin with my helmet? What if he dies?
The truth is that N.F.L. players have been using their heads as weapons since they first donned pads as children. It’s the nature of the sport. Sure, coaches tell you to wrap up an opponent with your arms, to keep your head up, to see what you hit. But when a player is moving forward, his knees are bent and his body is leaning forward. The head leads no matter what.
Some say players should block and tackle with the shoulder pads instead. Doing that means choosing a side, trying to hit an opponent with the left or right shoulder. That technique will get you cut by any professional team before you can begin to perfect it. It uses only half of your body and half of your strength, and it removes your arms from the equation. In a head-first hit, the arms are free to follow the first contact with a bear hug that brings the opponent to the ground.
(More here.)
NYT
AFTER an unusually large number of brain-jarring tackles last week, the National Football League went on the offensive against players. Commissioner Roger Goodell doled out a total of $175,000 in fines to three players and threatened future suspensions for what a league official called “devastating” hits to the head.
As someone who played in the N.F.L. for six years, I’m all for reducing reckless play as much as possible. But the league’s effort to police particular kinds of hits raises plenty of questions. For instance, what if I lead with my head to make a tackle and knock myself out? Do I get suspended for that? What if I lead with my head and no one gets hurt? What if I hit an opponent with my shoulder and knock him out? What if I hit him in the rib cage and puncture his lung? What if we’re both going for the ball and I catch him under the chin with my helmet? What if he dies?
The truth is that N.F.L. players have been using their heads as weapons since they first donned pads as children. It’s the nature of the sport. Sure, coaches tell you to wrap up an opponent with your arms, to keep your head up, to see what you hit. But when a player is moving forward, his knees are bent and his body is leaning forward. The head leads no matter what.
Some say players should block and tackle with the shoulder pads instead. Doing that means choosing a side, trying to hit an opponent with the left or right shoulder. That technique will get you cut by any professional team before you can begin to perfect it. It uses only half of your body and half of your strength, and it removes your arms from the equation. In a head-first hit, the arms are free to follow the first contact with a bear hug that brings the opponent to the ground.
(More here.)
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