On Tuesday, Dec.12, Sports Illustrated tweeted out a picture of the cover of their latest issue, set to come out Dec. 18. At the top of the cover photo is a single word, carnage, in all capital letters. The picture below the title is a cartoon depiction of numerous NFL players, such as Aaron Rodgers, each with, or in, some form of pain or injury. The story that this image depicted is by far one of the most sickening stories I’ve ever read, As an avid fan of football, and of sports in general, that’s concerning. What I’m about to say may not be concerning to anyone else, but I feel obligated to voice my opinion on why I feel as if it is not okay in any way, shape, or form for a media outlet, such as Sports Illustrated, to make light of the severity of the issue of injuries especially in relation to an aggressive sport like football.
First, I would like to note that I am aware that the article does make note of the fact that playing professional football is a decision players make every single day and that they are well aware of the risks it entails. New York Giants defensive end, Olivier Vernon, was quoted as saying, “You’re never going to be 100 percent healthy. A lot of guys have it worse.” The sports fan in me resonates with these statements and agrees with how SI puts it in the repeated phrase of “That’s just football." But is it really just football? Or has society forced football players to view violence and aggression as a hazard of the job due to how much we celebrate the “big” hits we are bound to see time and time again on ESPN or SportsCenter at night? Injuries are just an occupational hazard and it’s not a matter of if you get hurt but when. Is that really not concerning to anyone else?
I completely understand that Sports Illustrated is a sports magazine whose target audience is sports fanatics, not unlike myself. But as a media outlet I think they should be held accountable for looking beyond societal associations of injury in sport and look at the deeper ethical concerns that our, society’s, celebration of injuries leads to.
The author of the article points out towards the beginning that while this particular article focuses on the devastating injuries that mounted up during Week 4 of the NFL regular season it is no different than any other week, or season. Why then is so much emphasis being placed on injuries now as opposed to, oh I don’t know, any other time someone gets injured? Is it because as was mentioned there were enough high caliber players on the injured reserves list following Week 4 to form a pro-bowl starting lineup? Why does it seem to only matter to us when the household names such as Greg Olsen or Dalvin Cook get injured but when a third string fullback gets injured during practice or an OTA we think nothing of it? Yes, I know I’m asking a lot of questions and giving very few, if any answers, but that’s just it — I don’t have the answers.
Maybe my stance on how I few an article such as this one has changed since reading the book Against Football: A Reluctant Manifesto by Steve Almond in which Almond explicitly voices his disdain for how society views playing through pain and returning to football following significant injuries. Neither Almond’s book nor this article have changed my love for football or have kept me from turning on ESPN to watch it every Thursday Sunday, and Monday but it has made me more skeptical. For example, watching Greg Olsen limp off the field once again in only his second time back since he broke his ankle in Week 2 against the Buffalo Bills. As he hobbled his way over to the sidelines commentators said that Greg Olsen not playing the week before against New Orleans had been due to not wanting to aggravate his foot further by playing on the astroturf at the Superdome. This may be completely true, I can’t possibly know, but seeing number 88 in blue painstakingly make his way across the field to the medical table made me question whether or not he was truly recovered and/or should be playing in this game.
Media sources such as ESPN, SportsCenter, and Sports Illustrated are talking about the injuries and making them known, but what they aren’t talking about is why athletes feel this need to return to play so quickly or why, with all the information coming out about CTE, current players aren’t being tested. Yes, they may mention it in passing but of the hundreds of articles that come out weekly about box scores and Cam Newton’s impressive 60+ yard run to seal the Panthers victory over the Vikings why can’t one of them focus on the implications of athletic injuries. I, as an educated sports fan, am not okay with injuries being made light of or deemed just a part of the sport. I think it’s time we speak out about injuries and stop making athletes feel less competent as a person if they are unable to play in x number of games because of a severe concussion or ACL tear.
The last thing I’ll say is that I, by no means, am arguing for football to be banned as it was at one point in our history. All I’m asking is that we stop pushing injuries under the rug and take them as they are at face value. Yes, football is an aggressive sport, no that doesn’t mean we have to accept that injuries are inevitable and there’s nothing we can do about them. I’m sorry if this upsets some people, and I know it won’t be received well by all, but that’s the thing if someone doesn’t say it then no one else will.
Read the Sports Illustrated article and read Steve Almond’s book. I promise you won’t hate sports or football afterwards but it’ll make you think a little differently.
