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Sunday, February 03, 2013

Behind the fan-fare

Today Americans across the country will indulge in the country’s most cherished pastime: watching large men give each other life-threatening concussions and watch the next generation of Alzheimer’s patients and suicide victims go on to national glory. Today is Super Bowl Sunday, San Francisco 49ers vs. Baltimore Ravens played in New Orleans. The dome became a symbol of suffering after thousands of residents were stranded there for days without food or water in Katrina's aftermath. At least $85 million spent on Superdome improvements, including more luxury suites.

Read more here: http://www.islandpacket.com/2013/01/29/2359109/katrinas-scars-harder-to-see-as.html#storylink=cpy

Over the past few years, the dangers of the sport have come under more scrutiny, as more than 3,800 former players have sued the NFL over the issue of head injuries. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy, more commonly referred to by its initials CTE, has become a huge concern for retired football players, as a number of high profile suicides have put the debilitating brain disease on their radar, including that of former star linebacker Junior Seau. Only 43 years old, Seau was found dead last year of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest. Like others before him, he chose to preserve his brain so that it could be studied after his death. During his playing career, Seau was never sidelined due to concussions, but it has been established that he did develop CTE, likely because of repeated hits to the head during his twenty year career. His family has filed a lawsuit, according the Associated Press, accusing the NFL of “deliberately ignoring and concealing evidence of the risks associated with traumatic brain injuries.”

The average fan, aside from being enticed by the violence, is able to put some distance between themselves and the players, as they justify watching by telling themselves that these men are being paid millions of dollars to play a game they know is dangerous. The reason there are over a million boys in this country, of all different ages, playing this violent game is that there are millions of dollars on the table, in guaranteed contracts and endorsement deals, available to those who prove themselves capable. So what’s a little permanent brain damage? Who is more willing to play than those who are most economically disadvantaged?  It’s also no coincidence that so many of them are African-American. Sixty-seven percent  of NFL players are are African-American. Why? Because this is a hustle, and so long as African-Americans are disproportionately represented among the poor, they’ll also be disproportionately represented in the NFL.

For New Orleans its a windfall of a prediction of a $434 million overall boost, $211 million of it spent directly with businesses in the city and $223 million flowing indirectly as companies prepare for crowds and employees recirculate their extra Super Bowl cash. The returns would mean an estimated $26 million in additional tax revenue for local and state governments. "A fresh coat of paint hasn't and won't drive away the poverty that has existed in our community," said Davida Finger, a Loyola University law professor who has helped low-income residents with Katrina-related housing problems. Jobs and wages will fluctuate rapidly based on whichever circus happens to be in town that week.

Read more here: http://www.islandpacket.com/2013/01/29/2359109/katrinas-scars-harder-to-see-as.html#storylink=cpy


Taken from here

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