The Random Comic Strip

The Random Comic Strip

Words to live by...

"How beautiful it is to do nothing, and to rest afterward."

[Spanish Proverb]

Ius luxuriae publice datum est

(The right to looseness has been officially given)

"Everyone carries a part of society on his shoulders," wrote Ludwig von Mises, "no one is relieved of his share of responsibility by others. And no one can find a safe way for himself if society is sweeping towards destruction. Therefore everyone, in his own interest, must thrust himself vigorously into the intellectual battle."

Apparently, the crossword puzzle that disappeared from the blog, came back.


Thursday, January 24, 2013

Who is really responsible?


I see that Junior Seau's family is suing the NFL.  The claim is that his suicide was the result of brain trauma from the violent hits he took while playing football.

I understand the pain they are going through. I do not understand the lawsuit. Why not sue themselves? After all, they supported him in his career choice from the time he was a child. Why not sue his high school? Or USC (where he played college ball)? 


Why not sue his cultural community in San Diego?
From Wiki:

After graduating from high school, Seau attended the University of Southern California (USC). He had to sit out his freshman season because he got only a 690 on his college entrance exam, the SAT, 10 points short of USC's required minimum score for freshman eligibility.

Seau told Sports Illustrated: "I was labeled a dumb jock. I went from being a four-sport star to an ordinary student at USC. I found out who my true friends were. Nobody stuck up for me—not our relatives, best friends or neighbors. There's a lot of jealousy among Samoans, not wanting others to get ahead in life, and my parents got an earful at church: 'We told you he was never going to make it.'" This prompted him to apologize to his coaches, teachers, and principal at Oceanside High.
 

My own son wanted to play baseball as a child. He was not in a big hurry to sign up for the local junior baseball which was the Pony Leagues. He skipped Tee-Ball and his mother and I had to make sure he signed up for the Mustang league a year later. We did that because he complained repeatedly about missing out on Tee-Ball.

We took him to practice, we made sure he was at games on time, we cheered him from the stands. He talked at one time of playing Peewee Football and we would have supported him if he had made the effort to sign up. He didn't. And I did not have to support that effort. And, secretly, I was glad. I was glad because I knew that football was a sport with a high risk for injuries.

Of course there are risks in any sport and the risks grow with the level of contact involved.

I understand the anger, the frustration, and the pain Seau's family is going through. But why is it the NFL's fault? The NFL has tried to minimize injury. Look at its history. At one time players wore leather helmets and just shoulder pads. Today, they are almost armored.

Maybe, instead of adding padding, they should have set size limits on players. As the personal protection was increased, players got bigger, stronger, faster. They had to have bigger, stronger, faster, players to overcome the protection. The game is about impact, about hitting the opponents harder and harder. It is a full contact sport and not only Seau but his family knew that from the first day he signed up to play.

I don't intend to sound heartless but I hope their lawsuit fails.
 

1 comment:

T.C. said...

It's not the NFL's fault. If it is, then I'm afraid football would have to be outlawed. Parents have the choice in the end.