Now, THIS is a powerful message (Wallace Matthews Column today)

http://www.newsday.com/sports/columnists/ny-spwally315074337jan31,0,2120315.column?coll=ny-sports-columnists

 

One of the most underreported ongoing meaningful stories in American sports.

 

old stuff. the times did an andre waters piece last week. peter keating did it for espn mag two months ago.

matthews is a good columnist.


nfl concussions affect about .0000000000001 of the population.

canzano wrote about something that affects tens of millions of working-poor americans.

co-pilot, you've got your 'sports tunnel-vision' glasses on.

 

do you honestly believe this is a story that only affects NFL players?

 

okay, it affects nfl brass. agents maybe. writers who cover it.

nfl concussions is not a huge social issue.

you obviously believe otherwise.

 

It's not in the grand scheme of things.

But in the world of the NFL, and that's what we're talking about here, it should be a huge issue.

 

perhaps it affects such a small percentange of the population because such a small percentage of the population plays in the nfl. among players, i'd say the incidence is far more significant. it's a legitimate issue.

 

This appears as if it has become the Official Super Bowl XLI Pregame Topic, for those intrepid journalists who want to cover the Super Bowl "differently." I think there should be a rule for those assigned to the Super Bowl: one story for every two nights there.

That would cut the "horsecrap," as Mr. Matthews so eloquently puts it. (Wait. If it's horsecrap, why is he even covering it?)

I read an approximately one-million-word piece by Melissa Isaacson on this topic Sunday in the Chicago Tribune, as it related to the '85 Bears. Don't misunderstand me: the story was interesting (though too long), but it wasn't something I hadn't read before -- like, say, last week with the Andre Waters story.

I don't think the players are going to get a lot of sympathy. They know they sold their souls, and it's an occupational hazard. Maybe someone should do a story about that. Ms. Isaacson told of how the '85 Bears used to laugh at Ed O'Bradovich, who couldn't turn his head.

It's the same thing with the faux-outrage Tank Johnson columns. File it, then head to Joe's Stone Crab.

 

The issue here is not concussions. The issue is whether a labor union is serving the interests of retirees by providing or advocating for sufficient long term health care benefits.

 

The other point here is that former players are banding together to call attention to the problem. The league will be forced to address it.

 

exactly. it's a crying shame that there's no solid pension fund. the media should cover it. people should read, watch and listen to the stories. then the league, owners, player association and sponsors should do something about it.

 

Ding, ding, ding.

And to whoever said, "They sold their souls". . .

It's a comment so obvioulsy ill-informed that it probably doesn't need to be addressed. But for your benefit:

1) They didn't sell their souls. They sold their bodies.

2) The guys in question sold their bodies for not much more than a Steel worker today sells his body for.

The issue at hand: If it weren't for these guys, the players today wouldn't be able to, in Gene Upshaw's heartfelt words, "pay my salary." The league wouldn't be rolling in money. Guys like Kramer and Forester played before today's safer equipment, before today's modern medical staffs, and, most importantly, before today's salaries.

But rather than help them pay the price, the NFL is looking the other way.

Like Bob Ryan said, the sausage tastes better than ever, but nobody wants to see how it was made.