Sports Head Injuries Essay Example

Sports head injuries There are many dilemmas that plague sports. Some of those can range from bribing, cheating, racism, and sports safety. In the past the NBA had to deal with the betting scandal involving Tim Donaghy and baseball has had to deal with the issue of performance enhancers. The sports industry generates around half a trillion dollars a year and it has to deal with multiple dilemmas at the youth, college, and professional level. A growing issue with sports has been the number of injuries that athletes have had to deal with. Typical sports injuries range from twisting ankles, blowing out knees, and dislocating shoulders. Surgery and rehabilitation have helped athletes to recover and get them back on the playing field faster and stronger. There is one type of injury in which rehabilitation or surgery cannot significantly help athletes and that is head injuries. Head injuries affect numerous athletes every year. It has been an issue that the NFL has had to deal with for many years and will continue to do so. It not only has short term effects, but long term effects that can cause serious health issues for retired athletes. Looking at this dilemma that the NFL has had to deal with I will discuss it using the decision making model. The first step is defining the problem. In this case the NFL’s issue is how to prevent head injuries and punish those who purposely cause them to others. I feel the NFL uses a more programmed decisions then non-programmed. It uses programmed decisions when athletes have a concussion. The league requires athletes who receive head injuries to be monitored by a doctor. He administers tests and gives the okay if the player can participate in practices and games. They must pass all of physical and psychological tests in order to play. The league also has rules and policies that try to prevent players from hitting others in the head. Players are not allowed to strike other players in the head using their own helmet. In the