Violence became the other half of the NFL sales equation, perfectly complementing long touchdown passes and 90-yard kickoff returns. Yet back then, 50 years ago, Huff wasn’t craving the kind of attention that now translates into added income for players, sometimes millions of dollars. There were no pregame shows, no ESPN, no other outlets to run loops of video violence.
But now multiple TV opportunities are now available, opportunities for players — and companies looking for endorsers — to see replays of guys jacking opponents up prior to the prerequisite celebration designed to reveal another side of one’s personality.
– Bob Raissman, N.Y. Daily News.
Look: The NFL rule change to suspend players for helmet-to-helmet hits is a sticky issue. Clearly players need to be better protected from head injuries and the onus is on the league to come up with some reasonable way to do that. But the backlash from defensive players is understandable — they’ve played the games one way their whole lives, many times clean but brutal hits are flagged as helmet-to-helmet, offensive players could lower their heads unexpectedly and bring on the impact.
I don’t really know that there’s a definitive solution, though I imagine players will ultimately adjust — like they did when the NFL outlawed Night Train tackles and horse-collar tackles — and find plenty of ways to legally deliver the punishing hits America loves.
I can comfortably argue, though, that television coverage of the violent hits in question does not contribute to their frequency or viciousness, as Raissman seems to assert. Perhaps it is in poor taste to replay them ad naseum, that I’ll grant. But I just don’t think any NFL linebacker, upon seeing a ball-carrier in the open field or a receiver crossing into his zone, is thinking, “Here is an opportunity for me to earn extra money via endorsements.”
If I had to guess, I’d bet he is thinking, “hit him, hit him, hit him, hit him.”
With the possible exception of Kerry Rhodes, defensive players probably don’t reach the NFL without absolutely relishing the opportunity to lay someone out. Maybe that sounds savage, but it’s a violent sport and we’d be kidding ourselves if we pretended that the inherent violence isn’t a big part of why we watch.
If the hits have gotten more violent as the sport has grown more popular, I’d guess it’s only a byproduct of the television coverage, in that more money in the game leads to a larger selection pool of players and thus better athletes under more pressure to beef themselves up, naturally and otherwise.
Tedquarters 