It is more than ironic that on the same day “The Concussion Files: Broken promises, shattered hopes” [Feb. 4, front page] described the many players who received no benefits from the 2014 concussion settlement, the NFL Pro Bowl was a flag football game [“NFL players enthusiastic about prospect of pursuing Olympic gold when flag football debuts in 2028” [Feb. 3, Sports online]. This is the second year of that format, largely because few players wanted to risk injury in a game that didn’t count in the standings.
The article about the enthusiasm of NFL players for a flag football Olympic medal quoted Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Evan Engram as saying, “It’s definitely a safer, less contact version of the game, and it allows other countries [to] be introduced to the game.”
Perhaps the time has come for high school, college and the pros to transition to flag football entirely. Once that happens, it is highly likely that the prevalence of concussions, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), and crippling limb and spine injuries will decline dramatically. Then the NFL could point with pride to how the league woke up and saved the game.
Fred Pinkney, Takoma Park
I love NFL football. So I am disturbed to see an unfortunate but all-too-common scenario playing out in that world.
A small group of very talented people (players) in some cases end up with serious long-term health problems because of unknown or undisclosed risks they were exposed to in the execution of their duties as employees in their chosen occupation. They seek compensation from their employers (team owners) — who, by the way, have more money than most of us can comprehend — for treatment of these issues. The employers are dragged kicking and screaming to provide those funds, and then bask in the glory of their benevolence once created.
However, and this is the most egregious part, the employers then hire lawyers and assemble bureaucracies that build an impenetrable wall to deny or limit access to the money by the employees and families who desperately need it. Silly excuses are used to justify their actions.
Let’s not split hairs here with regard to who qualifies for this money. These players and their families are hurting, and this set of behaviors just makes a horrible situation worse. Pay them and bask in the glory of doing the right thing for once.
Peter Troy, Frederick
