A few days, ago, in an entry entitled "Exploring the Spirit(s) of the Times," I indicated a possible new direction for delving into what's happening in this country. Let us look at the wider cultural situation in America, I suggested, beyond the specifically political. Let us attend specifically to those phenomena we discover where there seems to be some manifestation of what spirit or spirits are at work in our cultural system in our times.
This piece --concerning the NFL, the players, and the Players Association-- is a venture in that direction.
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My Ambivalent Relationship With Football
I have always considered football a truly great game-- considered as a game. I like the way, unlike in soccer, every gain and loss continues to matter even if one doesn't score. Field position is cumulative and enduring. I like the mini-contests of either getting or failing to get first downs, which of course is part of the cumulative nature of field position. I like the balance between offense and defense. Of all the team sports I know, football works best in strictly "game design" terms.
But then there's the violence of the game. As a player myself, in junior high and high school, I eventually discovered that banging into other guys wasn't all that much fun for me. I was neither large nor small for a high school player, but perhaps it is because I am not all that good at tuning out pain, but for whatever reason, I gave up tackle for touch, and that suited my talents and my nature better.
Still, I have liked to watch. The beauty of a great run, or a great pass or catch, or a great tackle-- I can really appreciate what those great athletes on the TV screen are doing.
But then there's the violence of the game. The game I decided not to pursue further after my junior year in high school was clean-fought in suburban Minnesota, where I played. No one, so far as I could tell, tackled or blocked in ways designed to hurt the other guy. Even intimidation did not seem much of a factor, the players seeming rather to be hitting the other guys just to get the job done-- keep the defender away from the ball-carrier, or bring the ball carrier down to the ground.
The NFL is different in a couple of ways. For one thing, the size and speed and strength of the players raises the stakes in each collision considerably. For another, the spirit of this game is a lot closer to war: the defender doesn't only seek to stop the play, he quite likely wants to do so in a manner that instills fear that will make the opponent hesitate the next time. And sometimes, he wants to knock the opposing player out of the game.
For some years, I've had difficulty navigating my way between these two sets of feelings-- the appreciation of the dance and design of the game, and the repugnance at the damage that's being done to these great warriors' bodies.
It is in that context that I read, with interest and then also dismay and outrage, a story about the league and some of its less fortunate (former) players.
The Neglect of the Disabled NFL Workers
In the September 14, 2007 issue of the journal, THE WEEK, there's a two page story that reprinted from MEN'S JOURNAL, and written by Paul Sotoroff. It's about the plight of some former NFL players. These men --and it seems there are quite a few of them-- have been transformed by the cumulative damage to their bodies from their playing days from stupendous athletes to cripples, sometimes to basket cases. The article describes their pain, their incapacity, their destitution, in some cases their suicides.
In itself, that's not the issue raised by the article. As Sotoroff says, for many ex-players, the pain is "part and parcel of the warrior life, something to be borne with equanimity and even pride." (He does not include in this acceptance, however, "the rash of brain trauma that has overtaken the sport.")
The issue is how the league deals with --or rather, ignores-- the plight of these players.
Stunningly, no one in the sport has stepped up to address the scope and depth of the injuries-- not the teams, not the owners, and certainly not the one organization charged with looking after the athletes, the NFL Players Association.
Andrew Bard Schmookler's website www.nonesoblind.org is devoted to understanding the roots of America's present moral crisis and the means by which the urgent challenge of this dangerous moment can be met. Dr. Schmookler is also the author of such books as The Parable of the Tribes: The Problem of Power in Social Evolution (SUNY Press) and Debating the Good Society: A Quest to Bridge America's Moral Divide (M.I.T. Press). He also conducts regular talk-radio conversations in both red and blue states.
The breakdown of the "family" concept in American culture touches many parts of society in negative ways. The corporate "for profit" cannon short -ciruits the old paradigm of companies having a social reason for being beyond just making money. You know...back when employees felt a part of something, had pride in what they did, who they worked for, and what they produced -- now everything is expendable. The great divide between what CEO's and top management "?earn?" and what the actual producers earn is testament to this. The theme seems to run through all areas of society now and manifests it's greedy selfish attributes everywhere. That society accepts this concept is amazing, but understandable. I suppose change has to start at home and with each individual.
Walter Reed's example is just another manifestation that has came into the spot light. Pathetic, yes. But it happens everywhere. Corporations only accept responsibility when it is imposed upon them. People are emulating the "It's all about me" syndrome; because, "If I don't take care of me, no one else is going to!" What to do? Keep sleuthing...
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garth patchen (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 5 comments)
on Thursday, October 4, 2007 at 9:11:57 AM
What I appreciate about your comment, Griz, is the way you work so well here to find the connective tissue-- that is, to see how the "spirit" of the thing is interwoven through different dimensions of the cultural fabric. Thanks.
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Andrew Bard Schmookler (314 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 146 comments)
on Thursday, October 4, 2007 at 11:15:57 AM
I'll bet every man and most women who are reading this, can instantly remember Troy Aikman crying as he was forced to retire for physical reasons. I've been there, too. I cried when I realized that I was physically unable to spend 6 hours plus every week, walking into a school building and working with kids.
I have a friend who "walked-on" to the Dallas Cowboy's and ended up a year afterward with a contract. As a walk-on, he was paid a plus 100,000 a game. After 4 years, he walked away with enough money to get into money investing.
It should be a mandate for any new NFL recruit to attend money management classes and classes on speaking English like a money management professional.
I am not sure whether such a thing may already be true. Or perhaps I am thinking of something I've heard about how the NBA deals with its new, and newly rich young players. Anyway, I agree that these young guys need a lot of help dealing with being in an amazing new situation at a very young age. And I do believe that at least one of the pro sports does some of that at least with respect to the financial aspect. I think they also may make SOME attempt to help these young men navigate through the glitzy and artificial world of traveling to cities and staying in hotels and meeting groupies of various sorts.
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Andrew Bard Schmookler (314 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 146 comments)
on Thursday, October 4, 2007 at 2:50:30 PM
Sad, but not supprising, as sooo many yanks seem to choose "career" over conscience. I am an X pat living in Scotland and I can't tell you how deeply shocked the Scot's were over America's failure to take care of their own after Katrina. This is yet another example of shills and cronies that have abandoned their own to kiss the "feet" of the master. How do these people sleep at night? If the corporate "oil tanker" doesn't get stopped soon . . . "It's everyman for himself" !!!!! Ahhhhh those situational ethics.
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davy (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 240 comments)
on Friday, October 5, 2007 at 4:29:45 AM
5 comments
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