Terry Bradshaw says football will 'fade away'

You have to understand Terry. He is just a free talking guy. He isn't always consistent. He says one thing one minute and something else another minute. I give him a pass. Four Superbowls. Not a rocket scientist or anything. But who cares.

I saw an NFL film of him lately and was reminded he was a bull. He was really hard to bring down and would put a shoulder right into a defensive tackle and knock him back.

Terry, you are ok with me.

 

How is the NFL going to help XYZ School District when XYZ SD has a class action lawsuit filed against it for injuries to explayers? And when this starts happening, and the class action lawsuits start winning, insurance premiums are going to rise. Possibly rising to the point where cash strapped school districts are going to find it fiscally irresponsible to continue on. This along with the negative public perception that football is a barbaric sport that will inevitably happen once more and more is known about head injuries will lead to calls for SDs to drop programs. Rising costs plus negative perception will lead to increasing public pressure (egged on by the inevitable publicity seeking do-gooders) to have programs dropped.

To me, its pretty clear and seems like a pretty likely scenario.[/quote:fmisol5u]

If I knew that, I'd be making a hell of a lot more money. But I'm sure if the NFL see's it's interests threatened they would get involved. And if everyone has the right consent/waiver forms it would make lawsuits a lot harder. I'm sure these forms are getting pretty lengthy by now and cover everything under the sun considering this is a hot bed topic. I don't think your scenario is likely at all and find it pretty far fetched. I haven't seen the Tobacco Industry disappear and they have been subject to numerous major class action suits.[/quote:fmisol5u]

Theres a big difference between tobacco companies (privately held) and school districts (public entities).

 

I don't think lawsuits will be the problem....IMO the problem is fantasy Football....Fans are now more than ever stat hounds thus leading fans to Hate guys who don't make huge stats or put up lots of big plays....At some point Coaches will bend to that pressure as the League has done thus leading to a fan base with little knowledge of the game....At that point then the game would be in in danger of fading...

IMO as long as there are true Football fans who understand that stats are only good for stat hounds and that it takes lesser known guys to be champions....You can't buy a trophy with just skill...As long as we have enough owners who know that then the game is safe.....The things that made the game great are the same things that keep the game alive...

I hope peeps keep sight of that...

 

If I knew that, I'd be making a hell of a lot more money. But I'm sure if the NFL see's it's interests threatened they would get involved. And if everyone has the right consent/waiver forms it would make lawsuits a lot harder. I'm sure these forms are getting pretty lengthy by now and cover everything under the sun considering this is a hot bed topic. I don't think your scenario is likely at all and find it pretty far fetched. I haven't seen the Tobacco Industry disappear and they have been subject to numerous major class action suits.[/quote:1swsdylb]

Theres a big difference between tobacco companies (privately held) and school districts (public entities).[/quote:1swsdylb]

Like I said, consent/waiver forms will null most lawsuits, also, see TTF response for further explanation why schools would be protected. Plus, where are all theses lawsuits coming from? Just how many kids between peewee and High school are receiving serious injury??? I don't ever read of any stories. And whatever instances there are, I'm sure are no threat to disrupting the foundation of football. When I was in HS, a kid lost his leg, it was broken badly on the field, then developed infection and then they had to amputate it. I'm sure the parents tried to sue, have no idea if they were successful, but regardless, the football program was back in full swing the following season, didn't miss a beat. Now if there were a lot of those types of injuries, I might buy into it but there aren't, it's very rare, as are the few tragic stories of athletes dying on the field and yet the programs always carry on. Football is not going anywhere.[/quote:1swsdylb]

We are finding out more and more each year about the long term effects of repeated concussions, especially in children. Its an evolving science. What we know so far is that repeated concussions can lead to depression and learning and behavioral problems. At some point along the way I read an article that suggested that Ben Roethlisbergers boorish behavior could be related to his repeated head injuries...his motorcycle accident in particular...since the frontal lobe of the brain controls your ability to make decisions.

How long will it be before a young adults poor behavior is linked to the number of concussions he received as preteen/teen? How long before a suicide is linked too? Google "frontal lobe disinhibition syndrome and concussions" and read about it. Google "frontal lobe disinhibition in young adults" and read about it. Its already out there. Its just a matter of time before the dots are connected and then its just a matter of time before the lawsuits start. How long before: "The FB coach at XYZ school district ignored my sons concussion symptoms and encouraged him to keep practicing and to get back into the game before he was fully healed resulting in another concussion. Now as a result, hes a college junior with ADHD, hes depressed, hes in and out of trouble, he has a violent criminal record, and hes failing."-----and the science is there to back it up?

 

i agree TE. other levels of their football days have to be held just as accountable as the other. this will be hard to say it's just because of the nfl games and not the others in their lives.

 

If I knew that, I'd be making a hell of a lot more money. But I'm sure if the NFL see's it's interests threatened they would get involved. And if everyone has the right consent/waiver forms it would make lawsuits a lot harder. I'm sure these forms are getting pretty lengthy by now and cover everything under the sun considering this is a hot bed topic. I don't think your scenario is likely at all and find it pretty far fetched. I haven't seen the Tobacco Industry disappear and they have been subject to numerous major class action suits.[/quote:krb7ie6t]

Theres a big difference between tobacco companies (privately held) and school districts (public entities).[/quote:krb7ie6t]

Like I said, consent/waiver forms will null most lawsuits, also, see TTF response for further explanation why schools would be protected. Plus, where are all theses lawsuits coming from? Just how many kids between peewee and High school are receiving serious injury??? I don't ever read of any stories. And whatever instances there are, I'm sure are no threat to disrupting the foundation of football. When I was in HS, a kid lost his leg, it was broken badly on the field, then developed infection and then they had to amputate it. I'm sure the parents tried to sue, have no idea if they were successful, but regardless, the football program was back in full swing the following season, didn't miss a beat. Now if there were a lot of those types of injuries, I might buy into it but there aren't, it's very rare, as are the few tragic stories of athletes dying on the field and yet the programs always carry on. Football is not going anywhere.[/quote:krb7ie6t]

We are finding out more and more each year about the long term effects of repeated concussions, especially in children. Its an evolving science. What we know so far is that repeated concussions can lead to depression and learning and behavioral problems. At some point along the way I read an article that suggested that Ben Roethlisbergers boorish behavior could be related to his repeated head injuries...his motorcycle accident in particular...since the frontal lobe of the brain controls your ability to make decisions.

How long will it be before a young adults poor behavior is linked to the number of concussions he received as preteen/teen? How long before a suicide is linked too? Google "frontal lobe disinhibition syndrome and concussions" and read about it. Google "frontal lobe disinhibition in young adults" and read about it. Its already out there. Its just a matter of time before the dots are connected and then its just a matter of time before the lawsuits start. How long before: "The FB coach at XYZ school district ignored my sons concussion symptoms and encouraged him to keep practicing and to get back into the game before he was fully healed resulting in another concussion. Now as a result, hes a college junior with ADHD, hes depressed, hes in and out of trouble, he has a violent criminal record, and hes failing."-----and the science is there to back it up?[/quote:krb7ie6t]

Without physical evidence, and MRI test result, no lawsuit will even reach a jury. And if it did reach a jury, how would the lawsuit ever be won on "we have no physical proof showing brain damage at that juncture, but he might have been concussed during one or more of his HS games". And I have no data to back this up and don't feel like researching it, but I have a hunch that the number of NFL players who have had no after effects of playing football far outweighs the ones that do. Think about how many people have played in the NFL, from peewee all the way through there professional career, then think about just the handful of cases we have heard about. Bet it's pretty small.[/quote:krb7ie6t]

Lawsuits are expensive, not because they go to trial, as most never make it that far, they are expensive as they drag on for many years and lawyers fees are outrageous. To say schools can't be sued is wrong. It can happen, and if it happened enough, then it could affect football all the way up to the NFL. Do I think that will happen? No, I don't, but it's not impossible. The biggest issue stopping people from suing schools is there's no money in it. It makes much more sense to sue colleges and the NFL, where the real money is.

Players don't have to prove they suffered brain damage playing football in high school, all they have to prove is they suffered a concussion and were sent back in by the coach, and the accumulated affect of this happening numerous times resulted in permanent damage. There doesn't need to be an MRI showing specific damage during their high school days. Remember, in civil trials, the burden of proof is 51%, although most lawsuits don't end up at trial anyway.

Do I think football is going anywhere? No, I don't. Do I think it's impossible for lawyers to convince players to start suing their high schools and colleges, no, I don't. It's not likely to happen, at least not in any great enough number to make schools drop football altogether, but it also wouldn't completely shock me if it happened.

TTF knows the law in the US much better than I do, but I do know for a fact that a waiver only provides protection in typical circumstances. Even if a player signs a waiver, a coach can't knowingly send concussed players back onto the field. A waiver wouldn't protect anyone in that case.

 

I can relate to him a bit. I played four years of Division l football and saw and experienced a lot of hits. My son went out for his high school team but I could see he was not a football player. He does not have the athletic ability or the instinct to play the game. I gently talked him out of participating as I was afraid he would get really hurt.

He wound up playing LaCrosse which he loves.

 

Nutz!!

 

Football as I know it, watching since the late 60's
has changed dramatically. In my opinion for the worse. Just my
opionion. Don't sign on the dotted line if your afraid of getting hurt.