Link: http://www.esquire.com/features/nfl-injuries-0213
A quote that stuck out for me was when Tom Junod asked “So you don’t consider the concussion an injury?” and Willis McGahee responded by saying “That’s what they consider it. But getting a concussion and hurting your knee are two different things. You get back up from a concussion.”
This quote stuck out for me because to NFL players concussions don’t seem to be a huge deal when in return they can cause serious problems later in life for people who have suffered from one or multiple concussions. It was interesting that Tom Junod was able to see a trend that most NFL players only consider themselves having an injury if they require rehabilitation and if it puts their career in jeopardy.
Ed Reed also shared his opinion on what an “injury” meant. “It was an injury, then. It qualified by the only measure that counts: He couldn’t play.” It seems that for more than just NFL players, but all committed sports players, pain is a part of their life they have to accept if they want to stay a top competitor in their career.
Another thing that seemed to concern players is that if they are injured they can be replaced and they do not want to lose their earned spot on the team. Dr. Yates, the Pittsburg Steelers team doctor, said “Players know that if they can’t, someone else can – and they know that depending on their status with the team, they might never get a chance to go again”.
What was also interesting is that players often choose to play injured because they don’t want to let their team down. A lot of players know that if they do not play and a replacement plays for them, they could be jeopardizing how well the team does and they self select to play hurt. Tom Junod stated that “He’s playing because he’s better hurt than his replacement is healthy, and he is helping his team more by playing than he would help his team by sitting down and trying to heal” talking about Ed Reed while he was injured. This is considered the NFL cardinal rule #2 “you play unless you can’t”.
Surprisingly, the man in the article that Tom Junod calls PJ, expressed that a lot of players who hurt other players do not feel bad about hurting them. PJ said “Anyone who tells you that they feel bad causing an injury is probably lying. How can you feel bad?… Your coach tells you to go kick his… Your father and brother tell you to go kick his…. You are taught to hurt people”. This makes total sense! If everyone is telling you to go out there and win and it doesn’t matter if you kick some guy in the *** it really doesn’t matter because it only gives you a better advantage in the game.
However some players are different. Ed Reed in the article said “I took out an offensive lineman… It was bad technique on my part and I took out the center’s knee… So I told coach to send my respects to the center and let him know I didn’t mean to hurt him”. So I guess it depends on the person if they feel remorse or not. If they feel an inner conflict like Ed Reed or if they are more like PJ and know its just part of what the game entails.
What amazed me is that some players are even allowed to continue to play! Ryan Clark was fined $55,000 in one season for high hits, but he is still allowed to play. Players know that the risks of playing football are high, but they continue to play for their own reasons. Maybe they love the sport or maybe they want to simply be the best at their position. One thing that the article made very clear is that players play no matter what.
Keidel Capstone 