5 Biggest Controversies in Football
By ETHAN HOLST Ethan Holst
Football is a wonderful sport with very fun to watch games, but there are a few difficult problems and controversies that the sport is going to have to overcome if we want there to be fair and equal football in the future.
The Concussion Problem
One of the most apparent problems in the NFL is the concussion problem. The concussion problem is a problem because players take hard hits on the head every game which can lead to brain bleeds and death.
The NFL currently doesn’t do much for players when they get hard hits on the head, both long term and short term. Players are required to be taken out of the game after a direct head hit, but they are not required to get a check for a concussion. If they are taken out of the game for a play, and put right back in without a concussion check, it doesn’t benefit them at all.
The problem has become so severe, CBS says, “60 percent of the NFL has long term head injuries.”
There are suggested solutions out there, but they are not being implemented. One solution is a new helmet called the Zero1. The designers changed the normal helmet to have “a soft outer shell that deforms on impact and a column-like inner structure intended to absorb impact and disperse its force omnidirectionally.” says Fortune.com.
Neurologists are discovering how severe the head damage is, and the players affected are suing the NFL for millions of dollars for the injuries they have caused players. Some old players are committing suicide because they would rather die than live with the pain.
If the NFL doesn’t change something soon, football will be no more.
Cheating
Cheating is very evident in current day football and in most college and high school football. The Bleacher Report says “all 32 NFL teams have admitted they have cheated in the last 20 years.”
Both the Packers and the Patriots have admittedly put cameras in locker rooms and used it as an advantage against opponents at home. There have also been lip readers (that's why they hold up a clipboard when making play calls). Every team has been caught cheating a minimum of 12 times (Arizona Cardinals) and a maximum of 53 times (Denver Broncos) according to yourteamcheats.com.
The NFL does a good job of suspending players that have cheated, but they do not have a very secure system for punishing teams or coaches that cheat. Coaches and referees can actually be suspended, and three coaches and 13 referees have been in NFL history.
To have the fairest game possible, both teams and individuals (including coaches, managers, and referees) must be stopped from cheating.
Ticket Prices
Due to inflation and teams trying to make money, “30 out of the 32 NFL teams have raised ticket prices to over 100 dollars” minimum for a ticket, according to a PBS article.
If the NFL already makes so much money (over 5 billion dollars last year) from advertising, and their partnerships with Microsoft, Direct TV and many other big companies. The really don’t have to raise ticket prices to make the extra buck because tickets make up less than 5 percent of total revenue for the NFL.
Stadiums aren’t losing visitors because of price but they could still make tickets much more affordable.
Minorities in the NFL
The number of people in color in the NFL has been dropping in numbers drastically, especially on the offensive lines and in coaching and staff positions. Currently, 80 percent of coaching staff is made up of white people. Also, the “amount of players playing over the age of 28 has declined by over 20 percent in the last 4 years.” says ATTN, a national website and newspaper. It would be nice to increase the variety of coaches, and keep players until at least 35 or so. We need to increase age and racial diversity to give everyone in the NFL a fair chance.
Sportsmanlike Teams
According to CBS, the number of penalties in the NFL has almost increased tenfold since 2013. Unsportsmanlike play and fouls are common penalties that give one team the upper hand.
In 2013, 381 illegal contact, illegal use of hands, and defensive holding penalties were called total. In 2014 that number was up to 645, and it has continued to rise by 300 to 500 penalties per year since then. Players get fired up during the game causing them to be a little ruthless, but that doesn’t give them an excuse to be unsportsmanlike.
If players can work towards being sportsmanlike and not always be trying to get an unfair advantage, football would be a much more quality sport to play.
Fair Future NFL
There are many solutions to these 5 big problems that football faces. The sport hasn’t tried much yet, but to keep the game they are going to have to change in the future. Football is a incredible sport, but to maintain it some of these problems (if not all) must be solved.
By ETHAN HOLST Ethan Holst
Football is a wonderful sport with very fun to watch games, but there are a few difficult problems and controversies that the sport is going to have to overcome if we want there to be fair and equal football in the future.
The Concussion Problem
One of the most apparent problems in the NFL is the concussion problem. The concussion problem is a problem because players take hard hits on the head every game which can lead to brain bleeds and death.
The NFL currently doesn’t do much for players when they get hard hits on the head, both long term and short term. Players are required to be taken out of the game after a direct head hit, but they are not required to get a check for a concussion. If they are taken out of the game for a play, and put right back in without a concussion check, it doesn’t benefit them at all.
The problem has become so severe, CBS says, “60 percent of the NFL has long term head injuries.”
There are suggested solutions out there, but they are not being implemented. One solution is a new helmet called the Zero1. The designers changed the normal helmet to have “a soft outer shell that deforms on impact and a column-like inner structure intended to absorb impact and disperse its force omnidirectionally.” says Fortune.com.
Neurologists are discovering how severe the head damage is, and the players affected are suing the NFL for millions of dollars for the injuries they have caused players. Some old players are committing suicide because they would rather die than live with the pain.
If the NFL doesn’t change something soon, football will be no more.
Cheating
Cheating is very evident in current day football and in most college and high school football. The Bleacher Report says “all 32 NFL teams have admitted they have cheated in the last 20 years.”
Both the Packers and the Patriots have admittedly put cameras in locker rooms and used it as an advantage against opponents at home. There have also been lip readers (that's why they hold up a clipboard when making play calls). Every team has been caught cheating a minimum of 12 times (Arizona Cardinals) and a maximum of 53 times (Denver Broncos) according to yourteamcheats.com.
The NFL does a good job of suspending players that have cheated, but they do not have a very secure system for punishing teams or coaches that cheat. Coaches and referees can actually be suspended, and three coaches and 13 referees have been in NFL history.
To have the fairest game possible, both teams and individuals (including coaches, managers, and referees) must be stopped from cheating.
Ticket Prices
Due to inflation and teams trying to make money, “30 out of the 32 NFL teams have raised ticket prices to over 100 dollars” minimum for a ticket, according to a PBS article.
If the NFL already makes so much money (over 5 billion dollars last year) from advertising, and their partnerships with Microsoft, Direct TV and many other big companies. The really don’t have to raise ticket prices to make the extra buck because tickets make up less than 5 percent of total revenue for the NFL.
Stadiums aren’t losing visitors because of price but they could still make tickets much more affordable.
Minorities in the NFL
The number of people in color in the NFL has been dropping in numbers drastically, especially on the offensive lines and in coaching and staff positions. Currently, 80 percent of coaching staff is made up of white people. Also, the “amount of players playing over the age of 28 has declined by over 20 percent in the last 4 years.” says ATTN, a national website and newspaper. It would be nice to increase the variety of coaches, and keep players until at least 35 or so. We need to increase age and racial diversity to give everyone in the NFL a fair chance.
Sportsmanlike Teams
According to CBS, the number of penalties in the NFL has almost increased tenfold since 2013. Unsportsmanlike play and fouls are common penalties that give one team the upper hand.
In 2013, 381 illegal contact, illegal use of hands, and defensive holding penalties were called total. In 2014 that number was up to 645, and it has continued to rise by 300 to 500 penalties per year since then. Players get fired up during the game causing them to be a little ruthless, but that doesn’t give them an excuse to be unsportsmanlike.
If players can work towards being sportsmanlike and not always be trying to get an unfair advantage, football would be a much more quality sport to play.
Fair Future NFL
There are many solutions to these 5 big problems that football faces. The sport hasn’t tried much yet, but to keep the game they are going to have to change in the future. Football is a incredible sport, but to maintain it some of these problems (if not all) must be solved.