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pleiades's avatar

How do you feel about Junior Seau's family suing the NFL?

Asked by pleiades (4422 points ) January 23rd, 2013


source KUSI SD news station

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5 Answers

bossob's avatar

I’m guessing that the approach they are taking is that the NFL possessed evidence of severe head trauma to players, and kept the facts concealed for a long period of time. If the NFL had been forthcoming years ago with the accumulation of evidence they had in hand, many players may have made different decisions, and doctors and manufacturers could have done more research that would eventually reduce the problem.

Another aspect, is that the medical advancements in the NFL trickle all the way down to Pop Warner football. Many children and adolescents could have played a safer game if the NFL had been more pro-active years ago.

Head trauma to football players has become a mainstream concern in the last couple years, and it is being evaluated at all levels of play. The concern has always been there, but it is said that the facts have been kept behind closed doors for years.

Lawsuits against corporations for knowingly withholding information about their products that are harmful to consumers, have been going on for decades. Nothing new there.

I have no idea if Seau’s family will be joined by other footballers or families, or if they stand a fair chance.

blueiiznh's avatar

I am unsure they really have anything to stand on here. A good friend of mine is a lawyer for the NFL Players Association and it is not being backed by them

burntbonez's avatar

It’s worth a try. If they win, they might get the NFL to take a more proactive stance on head trauma. There is still a lot going on, and even though they get penalties for spearing in the head, that doesn’t seem to stop much of it.

pleiades's avatar

@burntbonez I can agree with that. The technology definitely exist that would protect the head more.

bossob's avatar

The difficulty with preventing concussions is that the damage happens on the inside. The skull stops on contact, but the brain keeps moving and slams into the skull. Think of occupants in a car that slams head on with something. The car stops; the people don’t. We can’t slow down the brain like we can slow down people with seat belts and air bags. The challenge then, is to develop helmets that slow the deceleration of the skull. Oversize helmets with mini-shock absorbers would help, but the players would look like Jack in Jack-in-the Box advertising. Technology has a long way to go.

The NFL has attempted to limit action that consistently causes concussions, but rule changes are still in the trial and error stage.

I bet if the players went back to wearing leather helmets and no face masks they would reduce the number of concussions from helmet to helmet contact!

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