When I was in New York last week, I had dinner with Matthew’s copy of the New Yorker at a cafe in Soho. He’s had a New Yorker subscription for almost a year, but doesn’t read it often. The articles are long, the print is tiny, and I can usually make it through the entire Sunday New York Times before he can get through a single New Yorker story.
Anyway. So while I was eating my mac’n'cheese (with peas in it – is that some weird New York thing?), I was reading this Malcolm Gladwell story that compares football to dog fighting.
One of the major points of the story is that playing football can result in some major long-term brain damage.
NPR has a bit of a follow up to the story today. The House of Representatives heard testimony from doctors, former football players and the NFL today. The only thing to really come of it is that somehow, football has to be made safer so that football players don’t suffer long term, life-altering injuries.
Maybe it’s because I play a sport that involves a helmet (though not one that causes so much head damage), I’m totally interested in this story. There’s a lot that can be done – education of younger players, alteration of the game, a major adjustment in the culture of all things macho and violent.
What do you think should be done?
One Comment
Malcolm Gladwell spoke at the ET conference a few weeks ago, and he’s fascinating. I’m reading Outliers now.
…I don’t have any comments about football. The main reason I wanted to comment was because the recaptcha words are “hussies reporting”
Post a Comment