Player Safety in the National Football League

     Super Bowl LVII features an exciting matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs. There are many obstacles that the National Football League dealt with this season. Most notably, the league faced immense backlash handling of several significant player injuries. Specifically, Tua Tagovailoa’s several concussions and Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest questioned player safety. In Tagovailoa’s case, the NFL league office and the Miami Dolphins came under pressure for clearing Tagovailoa’s despite having notable signs of motor impairment.

Concussions & Player Safety

     Player safety has become the forefront of national conversation. Players risk their careers and even lives each and every time they go out onto the field. Quinton Hayek, senior, sees the NFL making slight improvements to their handling of player concussions.

     “As an NFL football watcher, I hate to see players on any team suffering any injury as serious as a heart or head injury,” Hayek said. “I believe that the NFL has done the right thing in removing players from participating in the game when they show signs of head trauma.”

     Hayek further adds that the NFL is put in a tough spot with injuries such as in Hamlin’s case. With the nature of football being a violent sport, unfortunate incidents at any time may occur. Hayek offers his insight on Hamlin’s case.

     “When it comes to the situation with Damar however, there isn’t much that can be done as it is such a rare and difficult situation to avoid when it is set up to happen,” Hayek said. “These men sign up for the NFL knowing that they may suffer serious injuries, it’s an unfortunate part of the game.”

     Altogether, the NFL is a multi-billion-dollar corporation drawing hundreds of millions of fans around the globe. Making the NFL is a dream for many young aspiring football players. Maintaining a level of competitiveness while balancing player safety will be a major task for the NFL moving forward.

     “The constant search to make the NFL a safer place yet keeping the game intact is something I absolutely by,” Hayek said.

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