"Kill
the head and the body will die. Kill the head and the body will die.
We've got to do everything in the world to make sure
we kill Frank Gore's head. We want him running sideways. We want his head
sideways." - Gregg Williams (Transcript, wwltv.com) These are just part of the
chilling comments made by Gregg Williams before the Saints 2012 playoff game
against the San Francisco 49ers. These comments bring to light a dark
underbelly of the NFL game.
As
football fans we cheer on teams and players with a rowdiness that only comes
from fanatacism. We are often in awe of the physical specimens we root for on
the field and through our televisions. However their comes a point where our
fandom can no longer support the actions of these players there is a need for
us to be a moral compass for those we cheer on and those we cheer with.
Why should you care?
First,
we all seek the truth in our lives and as the Bounty-gate investigation has
proceed from 2009-2011 these players have lied and covered up their
indiscretions. The league has repeatedly given them the chance to be involved
and aid the investigation but none have taken the opportunity. Instead they
have blocked the investigation at every turn alongside their coaches and shown
a lack of regard for the truth and the rules by which they have agreed.
The
bounty program isn't just a moral issue, it also violates league rules and the
tenets of fair play established through the legally binding collective
bargaining agreement. By participating in the bounty system these players where
violating their contracts and creating an unbalanced playing field. Bounties
are a circumvention of the salary cap,
which limits the amount that teams can spend on players. This is a
serous breach of the contract in place between the NFL and the Players
Association.
The
biggest reason this should interest you is that the bounties placed on players
head could have serious long term ramifications for the players that we cheer
for and hate. The biggest of these issues is the long term effects that head
traumas can have on retired players and their brains. Chronic Traumatic
Encephalopathy or CTE has a very strong links to head traumas and manifests
itself at a much higher level among football players. This disease leads to an
excess of tau proteins in the brain and leads to a loss of brain cells in the
mood generating and decision making cells of the brain. (Ziegler,Sports) These complications have had tragic effects
in the last few years through early onset dementia and increased rate of suicides.
By targeting players with past concussion problems and the head of player those involved in the
bounties are putting their peers at a greatly increased risk of serious long
term health problems.
You
can make a difference here, and it starts with taking a stand and supporting
the commissioner and the NFL. This means taking off the fan cap and not
supporting or encouraging the appeals of the
players involved. By supporting the penalized you condone the
circumvention of the rules, breaking of contracts and the outright injuring of
players above and beyond the violence which is intrinsic to the game of
football. By denouncing these appeals we can sway the perception of this
scandal and make it clear that this type of targeted violence has no place in
the sport of football.
If
we don't curb this type of behavior in football, the consequences could be dire
for a sport so many of us love. For starters this could cause an even greater
up roar for major changes in the way the sport is played, many of which will
hurt the value of the game. It could lead to an abolition of the game by the
government based on increased health concerns at all levels of the game. Worst
of all however, if this issue isn't addressed now and in a strict fashion we
could see the unimaginable happen. An escalation of serious injuries and maybe
even a players death on field during a game. No fan of football wants this to
be the end game but an apathy towards this situation will lead us there.
There
is hope, however, if we the fans of football band together and support the
league and the commissioner now we can help to clean the sport up, to make it
safer at all levels it is played at. We can remove the unecessary from the game
and make it so that a mother no longer has to fear her son dying on the field.
So as we leave here today,
I
urge you to use the abilities granted to us by social media to get the word out
about the wrongs of bounty programs and to support the punishments handed down
today. I look forward to a future where the apathy of fans towards these serious
issues is no longer a concern.
I leave you with statement by Wiliams, ""I'd
like to again apologize wholeheartedly to the NFL, Coach Fisher, the entire
Rams organization and all football fans for my actions."
(Spain, Gregg)
Works Cited
Spain, Kevin. "Gregg Williams Issues a Statement on the New
Orleans Saints Bounty Scandal - New Orleans Saints Football NFL News -
NOLA.com." NOLA.com. Nola.com, 21 Mar. 2012. Web. 02 May 2012.
<http://www.nola.com/saints/index.ssf/2012/03/gregg_williams_issues_a_statem.html>.
"Transcript of Gregg Williams' Speech before 49ers
Game." Wwltv.com. WWLTV, 04 Apr. 2012. Web. 02 May 2012.
<http://www.wwltv.com/news/Transcript-of-Gregg-Williams-speech-before-49ers-game-146274295.html>.
Ziegler, Terry. "Sports Injuries, Medicine and Injury
Treatment Videos." Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE).
Sports MD, 01 Feb. 2012. Web. 02 May 2012.
<http://www.sportsmd.com/Articles/id/44/cid/1/n/chronic_traumatic_encephalopathy.aspx>.
