# Bob Costas on the future of football: 'This game destroys people's brains'



## Ol' Puss (Nov 9, 2017)

https://www.usatoday.com/story/spor...-this-game-destroys-peoples-brains/842904001/

EDIT: Archived the article: http://archive.md/xd2Gd

I thought this was an interesting take from Bob Costas.  I wasn't sure if I should put this in off-topic's Articles and Happenings, but since this is a sports thread, I thought I'd put it here.

_As far as longtime sports broadcaster Bob Costas is concerned, the future of football in the United States is clear — and bleak.

“The reality is that this game destroys people’s brains," he said Tuesday night.

Speaking at a roundtable discussion at the University of Maryland, Costas, who hosted Football Night in America on NBC for more than a decade, said the sport could collapse over time, barring a development in technology to make it reasonably safe. He said the decline of football, which was once “a cash machine,” is the most significant story in American sports.

“The cracks in the foundation are there,” Costas said. “The day-to-day issues, as serious as they may be, they may come and go. But you cannot change the nature of the game. I certainly would not let, if I had an athletically gifted 12- or 13-year-old son, I would not let him play football.”

Costas spoke alongside USA TODAY Sports columnist Christine Brennan and ESPN’s Tony Kornheiser and Mike Wilbon at the university’s annual Shirley Povich Symposium, named after the late Washington Post sports columnist. The panel touched on a wide range of topics, including Jemele Hill’s suspension at ESPN and the ever-changing landscape of sports journalism, but the future of football became a recurring theme.

Kornheiser likened football's trajectory to that of boxing, saying that safety concerns could make the game obsolete in the coming decades.

“It’s not going to happen this year, and it’s not going to happen in five years or 10 years," Kornheiser said. "But Bob is right: At some point, the cultural wheel turns just a little bit, almost imperceptibly, and parents say, ‘I don’t want my kids to play.’ And then it becomes only the province of the poor, who want it for economic reasons to get up and out.

"If they don’t find a way to make it safe, and we don’t see how they will ... the game's not going to be around. It's not."

Wilbon said football also lacks the international appeal of sports such as basketball and soccer, in part because it has sought to control its personalities.

"Football wants to distance itself and put a moat between itself and its fan base. It doesn't want to talk to them," Wilbon said. "'Well, Tom Brady's available on Tuesdays to talk.' Well, LeBron (James) is available every damn day. He's available every day on Instagram, on Twitter, on whatever it is. And it's not filtered."

Costas said the NFL’s apparent defense mechanism — to seek more information and continue to study the dangers of the sport — will only hurt its own cause. “The more information (that) comes out, the worse it looks,” the 28-time Emmy Award winner said.

He added that existing literature and research will eventually lead families to what he called a “common-sense conclusion," that children should not play tackle football until they’re 18, if they play at all.

“But then where’s the talent pool for college? What happens to college football?” Costas continued. “The whole thing could collapse like a house of cards if people actually begin connecting the dots.”

_


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## KM 749 (Nov 9, 2017)

The whole #taketheknee controversy should have been enough to indicate this already.


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## Tootsie Bear (Nov 9, 2017)

I remember after Chris Benoit's severally damaged brain was examined it showed that the reason it was that way was because he hit his head too many times. As a person who likes sports, I wish there were better ways for athletes and players to protect themselves. But if you're going to risk everything to destroy your own brain for the sport, then I think there has to be better alternatives out there.


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## TougherToenails (Nov 9, 2017)

why isn’t brain damage just considered an occupational hazard for football players? I mean, there are jobs like coal mining where you’re pretty much gauranteed to suffer from something that’ll eventually kill you or at least take years off your life.


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## Ol' Puss (Nov 9, 2017)

TougherToenails said:


> why isn’t brain damage just considered an occupational hazard for football players? I mean, there are jobs like coal mining where you’re pretty much gauranteed to suffer from something that’ll eventually kill you or at least take years off your life.



I wholly agree with you.  What I don't think many people really get is that to these guys, it is a job.  They get paid for that job, whether you consider them being overpaid isn't on the table in this instance.  There's a misunderstanding between fan and player, and I think that's precisely it.  They get adoration and respect as a bonus, but at the end of a day, it's a high-risk-high-reward job.  Why isn't it considered an occupational hazard, I don't know.


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## AnOminous (Nov 9, 2017)

Shouldn't brain damage suffered from football just be considered a job qualification for politics later?


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## RG 448 (Nov 10, 2017)

Perverted Cat said:


> “The whole thing could collapse like a house of cards if people actually begin connecting the dots.”


Yeah thankfully only geniuses like Costas understand the connection between repeated head trauma and brain damage, otherwise football would be over.


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## MarvinTheParanoidAndroid (Nov 10, 2017)

TougherToenails said:


> I mean, there are jobs like coal mining where you’re pretty much gauranteed to suffer from something that’ll eventually kill you or at least take years off your life.



What are respirators?


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## JFKdestroyer (Nov 10, 2017)

Perverted Cat said:


> _The reality is that this game destroys people’s brains_


Hard to tell if he's talking about the players... or the fans.


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## cypocraphy (Nov 10, 2017)

Isn't Boxing worse for the brain?


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## Ol' Puss (Nov 10, 2017)

big baby jesus said:


> Isn't Boxing worse for the brain?



Good question.  There was a study done showing boxers do have greater CTE symptoms.  However, the CTE debate started with football players, especially with Dr. Bennett Omalu's research into former Pittsburgh Steelers great Mike Webster.  I hate to use Wikipedia as a source, but they have a pretty good list of deceased football players with CTE.  That list will likely pile up in the next few years.




 
I think CTE should be further researched into other sports, though realistically, that's going to take time to do.  I think you have a good point about boxing, but that brings in a similar sport: MMA.  I'd like to see more research done on MMA, especially since they seem to take just as much punishment.  Just last year, Jordan Parsons became the first person in MMA to have a definitive link to CTE.  I won't be surprised if there are more names next to his in a few years.  

To answer your question, the short answer is 'yes', though there needs to be more research into CTE in more sports.


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## XYZpdq (Nov 10, 2017)

iirc CTE research in pro wrestlers quietly slowed down for no particular reason as WWE started donating to Chris Harvard's Brain's Memorial Study Fund.


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## Ol' Puss (Nov 10, 2017)

XYZpdq said:


> iirc CTE research in pro wrestlers quietly slowed down for no particular reason as WWE started donating to Chris Harvard's Brain's Memorial Study Fund.



That doesn't strike me as suspicious at all.  A concussion research study group that focuses on wrestlers, and funded by WWE.  Not only that, but Triple H is on the board of directors!  That doesn't sit well with me.  I think a sports league that is over it's own medical research can do whatever it takes to impede results and save face.


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## The_Truth (Nov 10, 2017)

> _Kornheiser likened football's trajectory to that of boxing, saying that safety concerns could make the game obsolete in the coming decades._



Honestly the whole article feels like a hustle to blame the current decline in NFL popularity on anything other than thug hugging players.

This statement in particular is pretty silly, boxing's decline is directly linked to the rise in popularity of MMA.


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## Chaos Theorist (Nov 10, 2017)

XYZpdq said:


> iirc CTE research in pro wrestlers quietly slowed down for no particular reason as WWE started donating to Chris Harvard's Brain's Memorial Study Fund.


Vince is probably spending crazy money behind the scenes trying to suppress the research.


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## XYZpdq (Nov 10, 2017)

Chaos Theorist said:


> Vince is probably spending crazy money behind the scenes trying to suppress the research.


I'm not sure WWE has much crazy money these days to spend. They've cut their pyro, catering, people have to pay their own travel and the pay isn't enough to keep people from just walking out. 

Would be funny if this is why they're broke, but I think they're managing that on their own.


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## Chaos Theorist (Nov 11, 2017)

XYZpdq said:


> I'm not sure WWE has much crazy money these days to spend. They've cut their pyro, catering, people have to pay their own travel and the pay isn't enough to keep people from just walking out.
> 
> Would be funny if this is why they're broke, but I think they're managing that on their own.


fftopic:
The WWE Network just giving away PPVs for tenbux is really hurting them in the longrun. They need to just make the WWE Network a archive thing with original shows and NXT  (maybe 205) on and drop the idea of giving away major shows for free. Also they need to keep the brand split but put both brands on all the PPVs and drop RAW down to two hours.  It would solve some of the WWE's problems but not all of them (The Booking is the major issue with the WWE these days) fftopic:


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## Whatdidyousay? (Nov 11, 2017)

They already wear helmets. How are they getting these injuries? 

Spare a thought for the real men in rugby who wear no protection.


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## AnOminous (Nov 11, 2017)

Whatdidyousay? said:


> They already wear helmets. How are they getting these injuries?
> 
> Spare a thought for the real men in rugby who wear no protection.



People without protection are a little more careful.

The brain is basically Jell-O.  If you subject it to constant sloshing around it's going to get fucked up.


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## Wesley Willis (Nov 17, 2017)

Botox destroys people's faces.


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## A Welsh Cake (Nov 17, 2017)

Isn’t it weird that there’s more cases of brain damage in US football than Rugby? 
Just some food for thought.


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## Sperglord Dante (Nov 17, 2017)

big baby jesus said:


> Isn't Boxing worse for the brain?


Yes, but that's far from breaking news. Pro boxers have always been aware their careers are shorter than any other athletes' and how there's a non-trivial chance they'll die every single time they step on the ring. That's why referees have been given more responsibility over the years and why all major boxing events have at least a stretcher and a physician on board.


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## Transvaalan (Nov 17, 2017)

Perverted Cat said:


> https://www.usatoday.com/story/spor...-this-game-destroys-peoples-brains/842904001/
> 
> EDIT: Archived the article: http://archive.md/xd2Gd
> 
> ...


Yeah duh. Thats why few people cared about niggers overruning the sport. Its hard to tell the difference in heavily concussed nigs and the usual dumb nigger.


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## Morose_Obesity (Nov 19, 2017)

AnOminous said:


> Shouldn't brain damage suffered from football just be considered a job qualification for politics later?


Customer service at Walmart


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## Hollywood Hulk Hogan (Nov 25, 2017)

People have known for about a decade now, and it hasn't slowed it down. Costas is a smug douche and he's not wrong in theory, but he's wrong in practice.


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## Strelok (Nov 27, 2017)

TougherToenails said:


> why isn’t brain damage just considered an occupational hazard for football players? I mean, there are jobs like coal mining where you’re pretty much gauranteed to suffer from something that’ll eventually kill you or at least take years off your life.



Nobody grows up wanting to be a coal miner. That's the difference. It's the job you take when life didn't go the way you wanted to. Sports conversely rely on a large pool of people who have been, essentially, training for their job for a decade before they even step foot on a college field. You want to be a profession football player? You better have figured that out before your peers even know how to read complex sentences, let alone what career path they want to take. You need people who have been playing since essentially they were toddlers to make a viable, mainstream professional sport. As it become more and more obvious that Football is a one way ticket to being a drooling retard, less parents are gonna dress little Timmy up in a Patriots jersey to get clobbered.

Will it kill Football, of course not, but the talent pool will get shallower and shallower, and eventually the NFL's #1 spot might become threatened, most likely by the NBA. That said, idiots who say MLS will take its spot are idiots, as even if the US ever manages to create decent homegrown soccer players, Europe is just gonna steal all of them anyway like they do the rest of the world.



A Welsh Cake said:


> Isn’t it weird that there’s more cases of brain damage in US football than Rugby?
> Just some food for thought.



Not really. Rugby Players don't run into each other at full tilt every 20 seconds like NFL players do, that's where the head trauma comes from. Rugby is more at risk of tears and abrasions from the scrums.

Late edit: Or maybe people will realize Hockey is the better violent sport. Men tackling each other has nothing on drunken canadians slamming into each other at race car speeds and flying through the air like ragdolls.

And yet despite that it is safer than football somehow.


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## Elwood P. Dowd (Nov 29, 2017)

Strelok said:


> Europe is just gonna steal all of them anyway like they do the rest of the world.



American Samoa FTW!


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## Piss Clam (Nov 29, 2017)

There is a reason they are called brain buckets along with motorcycle helmets.


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## KerryDixon9 (Dec 4, 2017)

There are also concerns in Europe over soccer players suffering from concussions from heading the ball. 

Personally I think the biggest issue in all this is $$$$$$$$. The modern day player is earning tens of millions of dollars while the ex pros are sitting nursing injuries on what's comparatively a tiny amount and the players unions are eying future TV contracts and wanting a slice of it to share round.  So they get the Erin Brokovich's involved and they then get the press making their case for them.

The argument that Costas and the ESPN commentator is pretty much stolen straight from what Malcolm Gladwell wrote a few years ago. I like Gladwell and have read some of his books, but fuck off if that guy is pretending to be a football fan because I just don't buy it.

Don't want to :powerlevel: but my bro is an ex pro athlete in a tough sport similar to American football. He knew what he was signing up for and accepted the risk. I think every single football player of all codes knows the score. If you're a pro athlete injuries and dmage to the body is a known risk and you shouldn't be whining about it when your career is over.


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## Mrs Paul (Dec 20, 2017)

Believe it or not, the NFL still tries to deny this.


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## XYZpdq (Dec 20, 2017)

Mrs Paul said:


> Believe it or not, the NFL still tries to deny this.


If my employees were an army of speds like the NFL I'd be desperate for any excuse I could find.


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## RadicalCentrist (Dec 20, 2017)

big baby jesus said:


> Isn't Boxing worse for the brain?


Yes, and ironically it stems from the gloves used for protection.  Hitting a man's skull bare handed HURTS.  Without gloves, fighter's tend to focus on softer targets, which is it's own medical can of worms.  Moral of the story is that a sport based around physical harm is going to be harmful no matter how you slice it.



Strelok said:


> Late edit: Or maybe people will realize Hockey is the better violent sport. Men tackling each other has nothing on drunken canadians slamming into each other at race car speeds and flying through the air like ragdolls.
> 
> And yet despite that it is safer than football somehow.


This man is 100% correct.


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## Chuggernaut (Dec 21, 2017)

The_Truth said:


> This statement in particular is pretty silly, boxing's decline is directly linked to the rise in popularity of MMA.



Gotta disagree on that one. MMA didn't get really big until long after boxing had started to trend downwards. If I had to pin it on anything, I'd put it on Tyson.


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## ColtWalker1847 (Dec 21, 2017)

KerryDixon9 said:


> Personally I think the biggest issue in all this is $$$$$$$$. The modern day player is earning tens of millions of dollars while the ex pros are sitting nursing injuries on what's comparatively a tiny amount and the players unions are eying future TV contracts and wanting a slice of it to share round.  So they get the Erin Brokovich's involved and they then get the press making their case for them.


Pretty much. It's about the North Dallas Forty kinda guys. The Steve Grogan's of the league who were held together with metal plates and screws at the end of their multiple decades long careers. Not the new crop of players who have the best medical staff and trainers and are making millions.

That said, they will have to change something to reduce risk on the professional level. The current players are athletic freaks. They are bigger, faster, and stronger than those that came before them. Dominant players like LT would just be ok if he were to play today. Back in the 80's he was a mutant built in some laboratory. But his athletic combine times are about average for a starter now. And there is reason to believe that this will continue happening as sports medicine and training evolve.

It's still stupid to pull kids from HS football and most college football programs over this though. Their CTE risk is nowhere near comparable to the human car crashes that happen at the professional level. The pros face orders of magnitude harder hits and many do so for a longer period of time than some walk-on redshirt backup safety at Beerbong State Community College.


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## JustStopDude (Jan 1, 2018)

ColtWalker1847 said:


> It's still stupid to pull kids from HS football and most college football programs over this though. Their CTE risk is nowhere near comparable to the human car crashes that happen at the professional level. The pros face orders of magnitude harder hits and many do so for a longer period of time than some walk-on redshirt backup safety at Beerbong State Community College.



Young people are still developing their brain. This makes young people more susceptible to developmental issues caused by seemingly minor trauma.

Also the trauma is due to the brain hitting the interior of the skull. The speed or magnitude of the collision does not indicate the severity or even the potential of a concussion. 

The common misconception is that one has to be knocked out or that the concussion has to be severe for long term issues to develop. That is not supported by any form of research at this time. 

I personally suspect its a moot point because eventually there will be a test that does not require an autopsy, so that participants could be warned of CTE developing. When that happens, I suspect many contact sports will struggle to find willing participants. Especially American football, the money is just not there as most contracts are not worth the paper they are written on.


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## ColtWalker1847 (Jan 1, 2018)

JustStopDude said:


> Also the trauma is due to the brain hitting the interior of the skull. The speed or magnitude of the collision does not indicate the severity or even the potential of a concussion.


Newton's 1st Law doesn't apply to concussions, got it. An object in motion will not stay in motion unless it hits the inside of a skull, or something.


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## JustStopDude (Jan 1, 2018)

ColtWalker1847 said:


> Newton's 1st Law doesn't apply to concussions, got it. An object in motion will not stay in motion unless it hits the inside of a skull, or something.



My intention was not to give the impression that I am disregarding Newton's Law on inertia. 

The interior of the human skull is not uniformly smooth. Its very difficult to predict the damage that occurs. This is why for some people they can take multiple blows and for others, there is potentially permanent damage on the very first blow. The angle of the blow, the direction of the blow, the speed of the blow, the impact force of the blow, the age of the victim, the health of the victim, the height at which the strike is occurring, the relative movement between the victim and the striking object...

Its incredibly difficult to predict the effect of one or multiple blows to the head and to isolate the severity to just two factors out of many is not correct in my opinion. 

Multiple studies have indicated that problems can occur in young people from multiple low impacts, just as if it were a single large impact. In the NFL studies, this has also shown to be indicated.


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## ColtWalker1847 (Jan 2, 2018)

JustStopDude said:


> Multiple studies have indicated that problems can occur in young people from multiple low impacts, just as if it were a single large impact. In the NFL studies, this has also shown to be indicated.


And multiple large impacts? Like those sustained at the professional level?

Look, you cannot honestly compare the hell NFL players put their brains through to NAIA players. The deceleration forces put on their bodies as routine every play are far greater and using weasel words like "can" and "if" to sneak around the fudging of the numbers you did by inflating the occurences so that the risk in your preffered group was comparable, I will have none of it.

If you find some kid that hits as hard as Kam Chancellor wandering a HS or NAIA or FCS field, you lemme know. Especially if they have been delivering that kind of hurt on a regular basis since 2010.

The risk to players below the pro level are simply is not comparible.


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## JustStopDude (Jan 2, 2018)

ColtWalker1847 said:


> If you find some kid that hits as hard as Kam Chancellor wandering a HS or NAIA or FCS field, you lemme know. Especially if they have been delivering that kind of hurt on a regular basis since 2010.



Not everyone responds to head injuries the same way. Its not like a video game where everyone has the same number of hit points before they get ALS or CTE. 

You do not need to get hit by Kam Chancellor to get concussed and have permanent brain damage.


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