Trump and Football Safety: Hyperbole and SHOT.

Trump and Football Safety: Hyperbole and SHOT.  Two topics that have been prevalent in the media over the last week are Trump’s comments regarding the Muslim faith and the safety issues swirling around concussions in football.  With no intention of relating the two, I will make a brief comment or two about each.

The fact that Trump is continuing to poll well ahead of his Republican presidential nomination opponents continues to stir very strong feelings from very different individuals and groups.  The Democratic Party and the mainstream media (but I repeat myself) are overjoyed by Trump’s bombastic remarks and the journalistic gymnastical challenges of attempting to tie his remarks to the Republican Party in general and the other nomination candidates in particular.  The Republican Party leadership is obviously becoming increasingly concerned over the prospect of Trump winning the nomination outright and, if media reports are to be believed, are knee deep in strategy meetings to deal with that contingency.  The most amazing aspect of this entire spectacle is how Trump manages to maintain or increase his poll numbers while making statements that are broadly labeled outrageous, irresponsible, un-American, and downright racist.  I think what is happening here is that Mr. Trump has taken up permanent residence in the land of hyperbole; extreme hyperbole, but hyperbole nonetheless.  Trump has taken controversial positions on both the Mexican/South American immigration issue and the Syrian/Muslim immigration issue.  In both of these instances, he repeats a pattern he has used before.  That pattern is to capture almost complete media attention with a policy statement that, on its surface, appears to be so far to the extreme as to be indefensible.  Then, upon being confronted with the apparent extremity of his stances, Trump will begin to prevaricate, while never really walking back or admitting any misstatements or untruths.  And somehow, someway, while performing these feats of shape-shifting, he never seems to damage his standing in the polls.  To me, the best example of this activity by Trump was his statement about thousands of Muslims celebrating the 9/11 tragedy in New Jersey.   While there were specific stories about Muslims in New Jersey having tailgate parties on rooftops, by any stretch of the facts no one in the media reported thousands of Muslims celebrating.   In this case and many others, Trump takes a kernel of truth, selected specifically for its political volatility, blows it entirely out of proportion, using the most electric language possible, and throws it out there to the journalistic hounds.  They attack it with a ferocity that is remarkable; they go over the top with their condemnation and criticisms, and when they confront Trump with his apparent errors, he is able to take advantage of their over eagerness, rhetorically blurring the lines between what he actually said and the kernels of truth, and then comes out looking better than those attacking him for his obvious and outlandishly false statements.  And probably the most remarkable tool Trump uses in the charade is his uncanny ability to select the topics he will address.  He somehow manages to touch a nerve that is present in many, many Americans about certain subjects and even though his comments are over-the-top and outrageous, there is just enough truth in them to garner acceptance and support from a significant number of potential voters.  You have to give Trump credit for this: He knows how to read the public.

Now for a change of pace.  With the upcoming release of Will Smith’s new movie about the NFL and concussions, that topic has been consuming many of the sports talk shows on radio and television.  It has reached a point where, apparently, many parents of youth football league players are either forbidding their participation in the sport or withdrawing them from competition.  It is incredible to me how we have arrived at a  risk assessment of football before addressing mixed martial arts, boxing, and other forms of professional and youth competitions that appear to be much more threatening…but here we are.  The NFL, much like NASCAR, has experienced such a rapid explosion in popularity and profit that their management has not been able to keep us with their business.  They more resemble the Keystone Kops or a County Fair Board than they do a governing body.  Given this behavior and performance, it is difficult to have much confidence in their ability to deal with the concussion issue in a responsible way.  But if they choose to do so, they might take a SHOT at this approach.  At the collegiate and professional levels, where finances will allow something like this over the long term and the size/speed/strength of the athletes make it more imperative, a lot of consideration needs to be given to improving the (S)urface on which the players compete.  Bottom line: modern technology surely provides a better alternative to a helmet slamming down against hard ground and turf.  Figure out an underlayment or something to cushion those impacts and mandate it transitionally over the near term.  Next, take a good hard look at the (H)elmets the players are wearing.  No doubt, there have been dramatic improvements in how effective football helmets are in protecting the players; but there can equally be no doubt that further improvement is possible and it is simply a matter of devoting resources to the problem at the expense of less profit.  One of the biggest indictments that can be placed against the NFL is the (O)utcome of players’ careers who play in the league.  When compared to MLB and the NBA, the NFL is light years behind in protecting the financial security of its athletes in both guaranteed salary contracts and average salary earnings.  When you consider the violence quotient of the NFL versus MLB and the NBA, the NFL should clearly take some large strides in providing its average and lesser-talented players with longer term, better guaranteed, and higher-paying contracts.  There is no reason why literally hundreds of journeyman NFL players should risk career-ending injury every week with no protection for their own and their families’ financial welfare.  I’m not talking about the stars here; those elites have it made from day one.  I’m talking about the guys that can’t afford to miss a practice or a play because the next man up will be just as hungry (or more so) as they are.   Professional sports organization profits are obscene and it is time for the NFL to take care of the men that fill the rosters every week and make it possible to acquire those profits.  And finally, there needs to be new discussion about (T)echniques.  There are common sense changes that can be made to NFL game rules that can simultaneously preserve the violent nature of the game and make it safer for the participants.  There is a lot to be said about the value of old school philosophy, but there will not be an NFL 25 years from now if kids quit playing the sport in youth leagues and high schools.  The NFL athletes of today are freakish in their physical abilities.  The mere thought of a 240 pound linebacker, who can run a 10.9 100, and has a 36” vertical leap, moving to a tackle with 5-10 yards to build up momentum is nothing short of frightening (especially if you have the ball).   Oh…and did I mention he is girded up in equipment like a freaking gladiator.  There will always be physical risk in sports; but it can be effectively minimized and managed without damaging the integrity of the games.