Things like Bountygate and the recent suicide of former player Junior Seau have at least one NFL veteran rethinking the game he loves. Former Rams and Cardinal quarterback and current NFL Network analyst Kurt Warner appeared on the "Dan Patrick Show" today and admitted that the current state of the NFL "scares him" with regards to the future of his sons. "They both have the dream, like Dad, to play in the NFL. When you hear things like the bounty and when you understand the size, the speed, the violence of the game, and you couple that with Junior Seau and was that a [ramification] of playing all those years … it’s a scary thing for me.†Asked point blank if he if he did not want his sons to play football, Warner answered, "Yes, there is no question in my mind." Warner also commented on Seau’s death, he said that he was crushed by the news. And that it made him think bigger picture about his sport. “The thing that always goes through my mind as a former player is what happens to a player after the game,†Warner said. He worries about depression and if it has something to do with what happens during playing days. Warner said he’s talked to his wife about the high divorce rate after players leave the game and how hard it is to adjust in retirement. Source: The Redzone
a bit too much fathers protection. let them grow up and make their own decisions and choice their own path
the youth leagues have started up around here and, on a related note to this debate from the spring/summer, sign-ups for youth football (in kansas city anyway) are down approximately 25% from previous years. Some of the parents i've heard from have specifically cited fears about the 'new' findings of concussions as the contributing factor. unfortunately, we had to guess this was going to happen.
