Can football practice be child abuse?

[Fat Man]

Yeah! It just keeps on getting better and better all the time!

NOT!!!

We are actually killing our children, all for the love of fool's ball!!!

http://www.salon.com/life/feature/2010/ ... index.html

Can football practice be child abuse?
As teens head back to the practice field, recent events raise
questions about our attitude toward sports training

By Steve Almond
Wednesday, Aug 25, 2010 10:25 ET



If you're one of the millions of fans who tunes into sports talk radio, chances are you've heard a lot of trash talk this week about Albert Haynesworth, the Washington Redskin's star nosetackle who has refused to practice for health reasons. The majority view on Haynesworth â?? proffered by fat guys sitting in air conditioned studios, natch â?? is that he's a spoiled brat who should quit moaning and hit the field.

This is invariably the message that gets sent when it comes to professional athletes. The ones who "play through pain" are heralded as paragons of manly virtue. It's a deceptive, dangerous message that hits home with the legions of high school athletes â?? football players, in particular â?? many of whom are now returning from their summer vacations to a world of vicious two-a-days.

A case in point: the two dozen young men who were admitted to a Portland-area hospital last week. All of them were players on the McMinnville High School football team, who had taken part in a weeklong immersion camp conducted by a new head coach. Three of the boys had to have emergency surgery to relieve swelling in their arms.

In fact, the players were suffering from exactly the same condition as Haynesworth, rhabdomyolysis, a breakdown of muscle cells tied to intense exercise in hot environments, that can cause severe kidney damage. Why? Among other factors, the team had spent time training in a room with a temperature of 115 degrees.

Here's how one of them, 17-year-old Brent Cordie, characterized the situation: "I was trying to prove to the coaches I can push myself to the max. I wanted to be one of the 11 on Friday night."

Pundits have been quick to lay blame in McMinnville, saying, in essence, protect those poor chil'runs!

But every year high school football players eagerly subject themselves to injuries ranging from heat exhaustion to torn ligaments to concussions and spinal injuries. They are encouraged in this endeavor not just by overzealous coaches, but an entire culture of athletic worship that sanctions behaviors that would be seen, in almost any other context, as child abuse.

Buzz Bissinger, who wrote the definitive account of high school football, "Friday Night Lights," recently wrote a wrenching piece highlighting the tragedy of high school players who suffer paralyzing injuries. "The game's violence will continue because that's exactly why we like it, our gladiatorial lust still intact 16 centuries after the Romans," Bissinger observes.

Does anyone else here smell a double standard?

Given the obsession with protecting children from harm â?? in the form of peanut allergens, sexual predators, and so on â?? wouldn't concerned parents and politicians want to transfer some of that vigilance to a sport that results in children getting disfigured and killed? That is, in fact, predicated on what Bissinger accurately characterizes as "gladiatorial lust"? (I mean, Michael Vick was made a pariah for conducting dog fights. What does that say about those of us who get off on watching kids deck each other?)

But this is how our culture operates. We scold violence out of one side of our mouth, and cheer for blood out of the other.

The hit TV series based on Bissinger's own book is the quintessential example. Way back in the pilot episode, the star quarterback suffered a paralyzing spinal injury. The next week, his teammates were back in action, ready to "play through the pain" and prove themselves in battle. And we were there to watch â?? and cheer.

Yeah! The more things change, the more they stay the same!

Buzz Bissinger, who wrote the definitive account of high school football, "Friday Night Lights," recently wrote a wrenching piece highlighting the tragedy of high school players who suffer paralyzing injuries. "The game's violence will continue because that's exactly why we like it, our gladiatorial lust still intact 16 centuries after the Romans," Bissinger observes.

The Romans were obsessed with violent sports, which I believe is one of many contributing factors in the decline and fall of the Roman Empire.

I also believe that sports was a contributing factor in the decline the ancient Greek civilization.

Sports, as we all know, was invented by wealthy old perverts who enjoyed having butt-sex with athletic young men and little boys.

[The Imperialist]

This reminds me of a few things:

WHy aren't these people doing the 'efficient' way for training? That is why we have something called SPORTS SCIENCE (pfft. I laugh, but I digress) (the only time it has any use- saving delusioned athletes from killing themselves because they have no notion of being over the top never really help in the training field)

[i_like_1981]

I don't see what kind of man would want to go into a career that involved bullying and shouting at younger kids. Does he think he's going to "toughen people up" by picking on people about a quarter of his size and sometimes subjecting them to harsh, unreasonable punishments? Does he think it makes him a "real man", bossing round a group of young people who would really be powerless to strike back at him for anything he may say or do? Teachers give a valuable contribution to young minds by passing knowledge onto the next generation to allow them to do well in exams and get good qualifications which will impress employers. Lots of these American football coaches just seem to take that career because they think that making people "hard nuts" is going to have any real benefits in the long run when it comes to employment and qualifications, and think they can toughen up the young by screaming and bossing them around on a regular basis. It might toughen up the body but it does not toughen up the brain, and having a good brain is essential if you want to get ahead in life!

Best regards,
i_like_1981

[Safety]

Being an athletic coach can be a very honorable and prestigious job to own.

[Fat Man]

Being an athletic coach can be a very honorable and prestigious job to own.

OH REALLY NOW!!!

Most of the athletic coaches I knew when I went to school were real scum-bags with no sense of honor!

[i_like_1981]

Being an athletic coach can be a very honorable and prestigious job to own.

Maybe the pay is good. Very good, from what I hear - people who are successful in athletics never seem to have any trouble with their wallets, do they? But if they're going to make the non-athletic kids, or even the athletic ones who do not perform to their very best on one occasion, feel terrible and even fearful about their shortcomings then I have to say, that pay is not deserved!

Best regards,
i_like_1981

[Jerry McGuire]

people who are successful in athletics never seem to have any trouble with their wallets, do they?

Actually, 80% of NFL athletes are nearly bankrupt two years after retiring, and 60% of NBA players become bankrupt after retirement. It's quite sad that with millions and millions of dollars they end up broke.

[Fat Man]

people who are successful in athletics never seem to have any trouble with their wallets, do they?

Actually, 80% of NFL athletes are nearly bankrupt two years after retiring, and 60% of NBA players become bankrupt after retirement. It's quite sad that with millions and millions of dollars they end up broke.

Yeah, and the reason these jocks end up broke after retirement is because . . . . .

THEY ARE STUPID!!!

If I were getting paid a couple of million dollars every year, I would put some of that money into savings, some into stocks and bonds, or invest some of that money to start a business so that after I was retired, I would still have some income from my business.

I would also buy a decent house where I could settle down during my retirement and eventually the mortgage would be paid off so I would be sure to have a nice house, doesn't have to be a big mansion, but a nice decant looking house, and a couple of good cars.

I would invest money in stuff that is going to last me for a number of years.

Now, what do these stupid jocks do?

Well, when they have all those millions of dollars coming in they like to blow that money on wild parties and wild women, and they don't think to invest any of the money for the future.

And, NO, it's NOT sad that they eventually end up broke.

They end up broke because . . . . .

THEY ARE STUPID!!!

It's actually really funny that they end up broke!

BUUUWWWWWAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Aw! The poor retired jocks! The poor babies!



Here is my world's smallest violin and it's playing just for them.

[Jerry McGuire]

Actually, many times retired players end up bankrupt is because they WERE trying to invest it and save it. Most times it comes from failed businesses, bad investments, failed real estate markets, etc. Of course, there are those idiots that don't plan for the future and just blow it all on strippers and their "friends", but it really sucks to see someone try to stay afloat by doing something smart, and it just blows up.

[Fat Man]

Actually, many times retired players end up bankrupt is because they WERE trying to invest it and save it. Most times it comes from failed businesses, bad investments, failed real estate markets, etc. Of course, there are those idiots that don't plan for the future and just blow it all on strippers and their "friends", but it really sucks to see someone try to stay afloat by doing something smart, and it just blows up.

Investing in a business is sometimes a very risky venture.

If one is making a couple of million every year, then just buy a good house and have a decent place to live during your retirement and a good car, and put the rest of money into a saving account that draws interest, and have it set up so that you get a monthly check during your retirement.

So, even if you don't get super rich for the rest of your life, you can at least live comfortably. True, you won't be as rich as you were when you played football, but you won't be broke either.

At least, that's better than living in a single axle trailer home watching sports on a beat up old black & white TV with a crude antenna made of coat hangers and drinking that cheap Buckhorn beer until your liver finally goes hiccup and you croak at the age of only 50 and get carried out feet first.

But you know what?

I really don't give a flying fucking Hootenanny in Hell what happens to ex-jocks after they retire.

They can all die face down in a gutter somewhere for all I care!

FUCK 'EM!!!

[HugeFanOfBadReligion]

Actually, 80% of NFL athletes are nearly bankrupt two years after retiring, and 60% of NBA players become bankrupt after retirement. It's quite sad that with millions and millions of dollars they end up broke.

Well, as you said, they make millions upon millions of dollars, which means that it is their fault for going bankrupt. They don't know how to spend and save their money. I don't feel any sympathy for them if they go bankrupt after making so much money. If they aren't making enough money to support themselves after they retire, even after making millions before, then why don't they work like normal people. They don't need to retire in their 20's or 30's, most people work decades more than that. Then, you are making the same amount of money as most people, and on top of that, you have much more than most people from the years you made millions from throwing the ball around. Yet they still go bankrupt much more often than most people. Isn't that odd.

[Fat Man]

Actually, 80% of NFL athletes are nearly bankrupt two years after retiring, and 60% of NBA players become bankrupt after retirement. It's quite sad that with millions and millions of dollars they end up broke.

Well, as you said, they make millions upon millions of dollars, which means that it is their fault for going bankrupt. They don't know how to spend and save their money. I don't feel any sympathy for them if they go bankrupt after making so much money. If they aren't making enough money to support themselves after they retire, even after making millions before, then why don't they work like normal people. They don't need to retire in their 20's or 30's, most people work decades more than that. Then, you are making the same amount of money as most people, and on top of that, you have much more than most people from the years you made millions from throwing the ball around. Yet they still go bankrupt much more often than most people. Isn't that odd.

It's like I have said before.

The reason why most jocks are bankrupt after they retire is because . . . . .

THEY ARE STUPID!!!

Now, there are lots of people who are not millionaires, and who are not bankrupt after they have retired.

True, many of them are not super rich, but they are living out their retirement in a nice comfortable house, and have a couple of nice cars, and they're not going hungry, and are able to go out traveling on vacation and are able to pay their bills on time.

I would say that most retired college professors are far better off than most retired jocks, even though they have never made as much money as professional jocks did during their careers.

That's because smart people know how to handle their money, so retired college professors, even though they have never made millions of dollars like the jocks, they are still living in a more comfortable retirement than ex-jocks and with a nice house and a good car. Also they usually live well into their 80s after they have retired.

While ex-jocks on the other hand, they blow all their money on wild parties and fast women and end up living in single-axle trailer homes drinking cheap Buckhorn beer and dying in their 50s when their livers go hiccup and explode inside them.

Anyway . . . . . as I have said before, I really don't give a flying fuck about retired ex-jocks.

Getting back to the subject of football practice in school being another form of child abuse . . . . .

A lot of young people get into sports thinking that they're going to make a profitable career out of it, only to be disappointed later on.

Of all the kids in high school who go in for sports, only about 10% percent or less go on to play football in college, and of all the college football players, only a very small percentage go on to play in professional sports.

I don't know what the exact percentages are. I suppose I can do a Google search on that, but again, I really don't give a fuck!

Young people really need to focus more on academics and just forget about sports.

But in our schools, kids are often bullied and pressured, not only by their peers, but sometimes even by their own parents to get into sports, to get into something that only a small percentage will ever make into a life's career.

And then, because they didn't concentrate on academics, they end up getting a job bagging groceries, or scrubbing toilets, or flipping burgers, and wind up living in single-axle trailer homes drinking cheap Buckhorn beer.

Ah! That's the life! Eh?

YEAH RIGHT!!!

[i_like_1981]

Sorry, I'm still convinced that when a celebrity has earned millions of pounds and suddenly becomes bankrupt over the course of years, they've definitely proven themselves to be incapable of handling money correctly and they're not blameless in their eventual fate. It must be really hard to lose a million pounds or dollars. Unless you're a bit dumb and sign something without knowing what you're going in for. Millions of ordinary people around the world manage to handle normal incomes fine and live happy lives off them, but you always hear about these celebrities (who are famous in all sorts of fields, not just sports) going from hero to zero and losing everything. They probably think that because they have wealth which most people could only dream of, they have everything and don't need to worry at all about anything that may come their way. A recipe for disaster - there are always ways to fall down in the world and that goes for everybody, including these high and mighty celebs who regard themselves as being on top of the world. Immense wealth gets to the head. If you come into a massive fortune, don't let it make you feel untouchable and faultless, or it'll be slipping from your hands in the end...

Best regards,
i_like_1981

[Jerry McGuire]

So someone is an idiot for failing a business venture? Tell that to my father, who tried to start a business but failed. You people seem to forget that athletes are human too, and a bad economy affects them as well. They are also capable of misjudging markets or making risky moves that don't pay off.
http://jacksonville.com/sports/football ... l-owes-247

Most of the debts are listed as personal guarantees that Brunell gave on millions of dollars worth of commercial loans involving several limited liability companies: Champion LLC, Core Development LLC, JWB Ventures LLC and JWB Owner LLC.

Champion, named the most often, is a real estate and development partnership between Brunell and former Jaguars teammates Joel Smeenge and Todd Fordham. Smeenge had already filed for bankruptcy.

â??They bought some land and they got killed, like a lot of people did,â? said Robert Wilcox, the attorney who filed the bankruptcy filing for Brunell.

I've lived in Florida all my life, and the recent plunge in the housing market has led to foreclosures all over the state, which make people wary of buying houses. No one saw this coming. At least these men were trying to save up their money and actually earn more when their football days were over.

There is also the lifestyle that is stupid and purely lavish. I found this from an article.

Four-time boxing champ Evander â??The Real Dealâ? Holyfield reportedly made over $250 million in cash during his boxing career, but despite this he reportedly is flat broke. Holyfield lost all his money by making â??smartâ? business decisions look really foolish. You thought buying a house was a smart move? It normally is, but not when you buy a house the size of Rhode Island. Holyfield bought a $20 million house with over 54,000 square feet and 109 rooms. The house has 11 bedrooms, 17 bathrooms, a movie theater, a bowling alley and an Olympic-size swimming pool. Imagine how much it must cost to cut the grass on all 235 acres! You could buy a Range Rover with the electric bill payment alone.

[Fat Man]

I've lived in Florida all my life, and the recent plunge in the housing market has led to foreclosures all over the state, which make people wary of buying houses. No one saw this coming. At least these men were trying to save up their money and actually earn more when their football days were over.

There is also the lifestyle that is stupid and purely lavish. I found this from an article.

Four-time boxing champ Evander â??The Real Dealâ? Holyfield reportedly made over $250 million in cash during his boxing career, but despite this he reportedly is flat broke. Holyfield lost all his money by making â??smartâ? business decisions look really foolish. You thought buying a house was a smart move? It normally is, but not when you buy a house the size of Rhode Island. Holyfield bought a $20 million house with over 54,000 square feet and 109 rooms. The house has 11 bedrooms, 17 bathrooms, a movie theater, a bowling alley and an Olympic-size swimming pool. Imagine how much it must cost to cut the grass on all 235 acres! You could buy a Range Rover with the electric bill payment alone.

Well, if I had $250 million dollars, I would not spend $20 million on a house.

Since I have always loved Astronomy, I would love to build my own observatory somewhere up in the mountains.

I would find out how much it would cost for just 2 acres of land up in the mountains. Then I would build my own house, and I would make sure that the cost of my house did not exceed about $150,000 dollars, and then I would spend about $5 million dollars building my observatory and then I would buy a couple of really good cars, a snowmobile in case I get snowbound during the winter, and I would be sure I'm well stocked up on supplies and a few hundred gallons of gasoline for my vehicles.

I would set up a Ham radio station so that I will have emergency communications and my house would use solar energy for heating and electricity, so I'll be off the grid.

Also, I would make sure not to exceed $10 millions dollars investing in my property, and put the rest of it into a savings account that would collect interest.

That means I would have no less than $200 million to live on.

I would avoid risky business ventures, and I would also avoid playing the stock market because that's to much like gambling.

Some people get greedy, and start to think the $250 million is not enough and will take a risk trying to increase the amout of money they have only to end up losing it all.

I would be realistic, knowing if I start out with $250 million dollars, that during the course of my life using it for living expenses, and paying taxes, that it will naturally go down year after year.

But if I'm careful, in 20 years I would probably have less than $250 million, but still more than $100 million. So, if I don't get greedy, I probably would not live long enough to spend it all, and when I croak off in my 80's there would most likely be more the $50 million left that would probably end up in escrow.

The stupid boxer who made $250 millions dollars during his boxing career, how the fuck did he manage to lose it all?

Did he try to buy a planet or something???