Long Term Injury In Sports Essay
Sports are a social construct. Not a combination of individual decisions, and not a result of the contributions from athletes alone. Cultures and societies benefit from sports because it is a socially constructed reality that multiple parties derive benefits from. Fans derive pleasure from it, employees make a living from it, and the community as a whole feels a sense of belonging form it. This being said, the moral burden of expanding the knowledge of long-term injury risks and coming up with a solution for this issue falls upon everyone.
The prevalent issue in long-term injury in professional sports today is concussions, and the overwhelming scientific evidence that repeated blows to the head lead to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). In the past, this was known as dementia pugilistica, and the resulting symptoms are CTE are disturbingly similar to early onset dementia. Individuals who believe the responsibility of dealing with potential long-term injuries falls only on the athlete make the false assumption that the risks are known. The specifics of the long range impact of these repeated blows to head are only gradually being learned, and one can not simply assume that players …show more content…
knowingly subject themselves to those risks.
Yes, it is easy to conclude that individuals voluntarily take on these risks, and yes, there is a certain amount of truth to that. But this argument completely overlooks the social component of sports. Our culture has created sports, and a part of wanting to play sports in the first place comes from its social significance. Participation in sports is rewarded, the elite are looked to as heroes, and the financial reward of playing professionally is staggering. For many in poverty stricken areas, sports are seen as the only outlet to pursue a better quality of life. Because of this possibility for a huge financial reward, those who create this reward hold responsibility for the risks that occur because of it. It is increasingly obvious that the responsibility of handling long-term head injuries falls farther than just the individual player. Morally, because of social, financial, and cultural pressures, the burden of treating and researching long-term brain injuries falls to the league that employs these athletes, and as a result, makes billions of dollars in return.
In this aspect of sports, there needs to be change.
It must happen fast. Unfortunately, morality is not enough of a reason for multibillion-dollar organizations to medically support their athletes post-retirement. As knowledge of the long-term affects of concussions becomes more known, there will be a domino affect that will eventually affect the fiscal value of professional leagues. The first domino has already fallen, and as a result parents are straying away from letting their children play contact sports, professional athletes in these sports are retiring early, and prospective professional athletes are choosing to pursue sports with less contact because of their concern for safety. These negative consequences will continue and expand unless the professional leagues take
action.
It is unfortunate that basic moral judgment with respect to justice is not enough for a professional organization to provide adequate care for their athletes who are at an obvious risk for long-term injury because of the sport they play. Auspiciously, even without taking morality into consideration, it will be in the leagues self interest to aggressively seek making the sport safer by furthering research and bear the cost of long term injury for its employees.
The prevalent issue in long-term injury in professional sports today is concussions, and the overwhelming scientific evidence that repeated blows to the head lead to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). In the past, this was known as dementia pugilistica, and the resulting symptoms are CTE are disturbingly similar to early onset dementia. Individuals who believe the responsibility of dealing with potential long-term injuries falls only on the athlete make the false assumption that the risks are known. The specifics of the long range impact of these repeated blows to head are only gradually being learned, and one can not simply assume that players …show more content…
knowingly subject themselves to those risks.
Yes, it is easy to conclude that individuals voluntarily take on these risks, and yes, there is a certain amount of truth to that. But this argument completely overlooks the social component of sports. Our culture has created sports, and a part of wanting to play sports in the first place comes from its social significance. Participation in sports is rewarded, the elite are looked to as heroes, and the financial reward of playing professionally is staggering. For many in poverty stricken areas, sports are seen as the only outlet to pursue a better quality of life. Because of this possibility for a huge financial reward, those who create this reward hold responsibility for the risks that occur because of it. It is increasingly obvious that the responsibility of handling long-term head injuries falls farther than just the individual player. Morally, because of social, financial, and cultural pressures, the burden of treating and researching long-term brain injuries falls to the league that employs these athletes, and as a result, makes billions of dollars in return.
In this aspect of sports, there needs to be change.
It must happen fast. Unfortunately, morality is not enough of a reason for multibillion-dollar organizations to medically support their athletes post-retirement. As knowledge of the long-term affects of concussions becomes more known, there will be a domino affect that will eventually affect the fiscal value of professional leagues. The first domino has already fallen, and as a result parents are straying away from letting their children play contact sports, professional athletes in these sports are retiring early, and prospective professional athletes are choosing to pursue sports with less contact because of their concern for safety. These negative consequences will continue and expand unless the professional leagues take
action.
It is unfortunate that basic moral judgment with respect to justice is not enough for a professional organization to provide adequate care for their athletes who are at an obvious risk for long-term injury because of the sport they play. Auspiciously, even without taking morality into consideration, it will be in the leagues self interest to aggressively seek making the sport safer by furthering research and bear the cost of long term injury for its employees.