Football fans grapple with violent side of a beloved sport...

[DGUtley]

Football fans grapple with violent side of a beloved sport...


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The harrowing scenes of Damar Hamlin’s on-field collapse after suffering cardiac arrest have forced some fans to confront yet again a truth they’ve always known but hated to think about: Football, a game with violence in its DNA, can go from exciting and joyous to dark and tragic in a flash.
Now, as the Buffalo Bills defensive back remains in critical condition in a Cincinnati hospital, fans like Max Cerone are reflecting on their relationship with the sport they love.

Cerone, age 24 like Hamlin and a high school guidance counselor in the Buffalo area, grew up minutes from the Bills stadium, attending games from childhood with his dad “in pre-season and 90 degrees, or negative degrees and snowing.”

Settling in at home with two buddies to watch Monday’s high-stakes matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals, Cerone and his friends watched in horror when only minutes into the game, Hamlin completed what seemed a routine tackle, stood up quickly and then collapsed limply, frighteningly backward to the ground, legs splayed, motionless. They watched stricken teammates weeping, kneeling and praying as medical staff fought to revive the 6-foot, 200-pound player’s stopped heart.

“People sometimes look at players like they’re in a video game,” Cerone said — as avatars, and fodder for fans’ fantasy leagues. “We watch them for entertainment, and complain when they’re not playing well. But these people are putting their lives on the line every time they’re going out there and putting on the pads.”


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[Peter1469]

It is part of the game.

[DGUtley]

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[carolina73]

But the shock of the event was also met with the comments of "we have never seen anything like this in a NFL game before".

You can't dismiss it when you see it. It is like standing on the street and seeing someone run over by a speeding car. But it was an accident. There was no dirty hit.
We still allow pedestrians on the street.

[Standing Wolf]

Six-feet, 200 pounds? I didn't think any pro football players were that small.

[Collateral Damage]

Anyone who 'didn't realize' that pro football was a violent sport hasn't been actually watching it.

Hamlin's situation, regardless of what caused it, is a sad and unfortunate event.

P.S. Hockey is also a violent sport.

[carolina73]

Just heard that they removed Hamlin's breathing tube completely this morning and he was able to Facetime with his team mates.

[Peter1469]

Liberal media, 'The View' blasted for 'very predictable' attacks on football, 'masculinity'

"The View" co-host Joy Behar hit at White, heterosexual conservatives for supporting football, days after Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin was rushed to the hospital after collapsing on the field. OutKick founder Clay Travis responded to "imbecile" Behar's comments on "The Faulkner Focus" on Thursday, arguing it is "predictable" liberal media would attack football as part of its "war on masculinity."


JOY BEHAR RIPS 'CONSERVATIVES,' 'HETEROSEXUAL MEN' FOR SUPPORTING TACKLE FOOTBALL: 'JUST SAYING'


CLAY TRAVIS: Sadly, it's very predictable. ... This is what was inevitable, right? Football is hypermasculine. It's violent. It's a meritocracy. And it is played almost exclusively by men. And so the left wing, of course, is going to hate it. And this is part and parcel of their war… on masculinity in general. And look, Joy Behar, I think, is an imbecile, and I don't know what exact quote poll that she is attributing that 45% to. But it's not a coincidence that "The View" has this discussion. MSNBC has this discussion. The Washington Post had an article saying that football was too violent. This is crazy, but it is what I've always said. Look, the left embraced Colin Kaepernick, not because of his stance, but because they don't like football and they liked football being under siege and being attacked. Remember, Colin Kaepernick went on and said the NFL Draft, he directly compared in a Netflix documentary, to a slave auction because they take your height and weight and measure your talents.
The difference, of course, is manifold. But you choose to play in the NFL and no one is required to put their body at risk, just like you aren't required to box or be involved in a UFC fight, or frankly compete in any physical endeavor that requires the danger that might arise when bodies come into collision. So these guys are highly paid. They understand better than anyone what the risks that they are assuming, and they are doing it very often for a chance at generational wealth and certainly to be compensated in their twenties at a level that almost no one in the world has ever been compensated for any labor before in the past — ever. And so I'm saddened by the attacks on football, but I totally expected that this is where this story would go.

[DGUtley]

Liberal media, 'The View' blasted for 'very predictable' attacks on football, 'masculinity'


"The View" co-host Joy Behar hit at White, heterosexual conservatives for supporting football, days after Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin was rushed to the hospital after collapsing on the field. OutKick founder Clay Travis responded to "imbecile" Behar's comments on "The Faulkner Focus" on Thursday, arguing it is "predictable" liberal media would attack football as part of its "war on masculinity."


JOY BEHAR RIPS 'CONSERVATIVES,' 'HETEROSEXUAL MEN' FOR SUPPORTING TACKLE FOOTBALL: 'JUST SAYING'


CLAY TRAVIS: Sadly, it's very predictable. ... This is what was inevitable, right? Football is hypermasculine. It's violent. It's a meritocracy. And it is played almost exclusively by men. And so the left wing, of course, is going to hate it. And this is part and parcel of their war… on masculinity in general. And look, Joy Behar, I think, is an imbecile, and I don't know what exact quote poll that she is attributing that 45% to. But it's not a coincidence that "The View" has this discussion. MSNBC has this discussion. The Washington Post had an article saying that football was too violent. This is crazy, but it is what I've always said. Look, the left embraced Colin Kaepernick, not because of his stance, but because they don't like football and they liked football being under siege and being attacked. Remember, Colin Kaepernick went on and said the NFL Draft, he directly compared in a Netflix documentary, to a slave auction because they take your height and weight and measure your talents.
The difference, of course, is manifold. But you choose to play in the NFL and no one is required to put their body at risk, just like you aren't required to box or be involved in a UFC fight, or frankly compete in any physical endeavor that requires the danger that might arise when bodies come into collision. So these guys are highly paid. They understand better than anyone what the risks that they are assuming, and they are doing it very often for a chance at generational wealth and certainly to be compensated in their twenties at a level that almost no one in the world has ever been compensated for any labor before in the past — ever. And so I'm saddened by the attacks on football, but I totally expected that this is where this story would go.

This is why we can't have nice things.

[zelmo1234]

Of course, the beloved sport of Liberals everywhere is Soccer

A list of soccer player deaths since 1990 - Hindustan Times

They average a little over one death a year, but it is OK because it is not a sport loved by the men in the USA