NFL Concussions

The alarming effects of Concussions in the NFL has become a major topic of discussion with a wide variety of opinions from medical professionals, NFL representatives, academic institutions and Anti-NFL advocates. While there has been action taken on behalf of the NFL, some believe that these actions still aren’t enough and that the complete mitigation of concussions has yet to be addressed. There has been many new outlets and sports forums that have called out Roger Goodell and the NFL on their continuous practice of masking the true dangers of head trauma. The New York Times published an expose that revealed that the “NFL omitted 100 diagnosed concussions from its supposedly all-encompassing study from 1996-2001, which understated the risks
This leads to the discussion and idea of scapegoating. The psychology behind the scapegoat theory is that an individual is able to blame another entity while maintaining a dignified personal image. Moreover, has the NFL become the scapegoat of an issue that has now reached the epidemic status in the minds of the entities involved? There is no question that prior to 2002, the year Michael Webster would became the first American Football Player to be diagnosed with CTE that the NFL acted in an unethical manner. However, we have to assess has the NFL been ethical in its approach to the issues of concussions of late and not be subjected to judge them on predetermined
Those rules includes the prohibition of launching off the ground when striking a player and defenders must line up their entire bodies outside the snapper to protect the snapper. The drastic change to the rules happened when the NFL moved the kickoff from the 30-yard line to the 35-yard line and also making the concussion protocol stricter. Should the separation of state and federal rules apply to the NFL? This leads to the idea that maybe teams should be held responsible for not initiating the rules set forth by the NFL. How can consumers undoubtedly blame the commissioner when there has been reported cases of coaches going against the trainer’s permission to insert a player after enduring a concussion? The discussion of ethics as it relates to the NFL is not a simple take and there are multiple measures that should be considered. In this paper, the ethical landscape of both the NFL and those that oppose the NFL’s handling of the situation will be discussed. The goal is to then illuminate the issues and offer a proposal that would help move the discussion forward and also things the NFL could do to prevent concussions in ways that have yet to be