It’s not necessarily about banning it. But the league has screwed up. Right around Seau’s rookie season the NFL released a report that concussions cause no permanent damage, a report that was pretty silly given the medical knowledge we had at the time and has now been completely refuted. But during all the time players have been taking a beating, the league has only recently decided to take player health seriously, but of course they have decades of a violent culture they built to overcome. Then you get scary things like Chris Henry’s autopsy showing massive brain trauma and he was a wide receiver (probably the least impacted position on the team besides kicker) who had never missed a game due to head injury as a pro or college player. If Seau’s autopsy is similar something dramatic is going to have to change in the game, because if his brain looks like Henry’s then we’ve got good evidence that the game is beating players to death, probably starting with their first tackle in peewee.
Huh?!?!? Tell that to Darryl Stingley (oh wait, you can't)
Chris Henry’s autopsy showing massive brain trauma and he was a wide receiver...
Not to nitpick, but I believe Chris Henrey’s massive brain trauma was a result of flying out of the back of a speeding truck, which was being driven by a ex-girlfirend in an attempt to avoid a beating. Doubt that the coroner is able to distinguish between injuries sustained from playing footbal versus hitting the pavement after falling out of a moving truck...
Football is a brutal sport, especially in the NFL. The players know the risks going in, so they bear a large part of the responsibility. If Seau’s brain show massive trauma, as a linebacker you have to think the majority of it was inflicted by himself.
The simple truth is that the human body wasn’t designed to take such a beating. Pro football has become what gladitorial games were in rome, a blood sport.
And remember our youth are now competing for an NFL position, making them very agressive.