Hits to the Head

Has the National Football League (NFL) gone too far with their punishments on players who hit other players in the head? Football is and has always been a rough sport. Players are constantly hitting each other and piling on top of one another. The sport football is a rough sport. Fans go to football games to be entertained by big hits and wild plays. Tackling players is a part of the game. Players have been taught since they were 8 years old on how to hit a player with the football. How do you fine and suspend a professional football player who has been taught all his life on how to hit?

The National Football League has started suspending and fining players who are hitting players in the head. Pittsburgh Steelers pass rusher, James Harrison has been fined 50,000 dollars and has been warned of possible suspension if he continues to “Hit to Hard,” according to Roger Goodell(commissioner of the NFL). Football is made up of guys who tackle the opposing players who have the ball. How can you tell a player, like James Harrision, to stop hitting so hard? These football players have been taught their whole lives on how to hit. By fining a player and suspending a player for hitting to the head unintentionally is not fair to the player. Taking away money from a player is not fair considering the NFL does not cover player’s health insurance when a player retires.

Numerous players have been fined and suspended over the course of the 2010 season. Playing football myself in high school, every player is hit in the head whether it’s intentionally or unintentional. Players are constantly being tackled into the ground head first or helmets clashing into one another. That’s why football players wear helmets. If the commissioner is going to crack down on hits to the head, he needs to change Monday night’s football opening advertisement. Before the Monday night game begins, two helmets of the opposing teams clash together to signify the two opposing teams about to battle one another. If the commissioner of the NFL wants to stop hits to the head, then why does he continue to play this advertisement of two helmets clashing together?

Fans are entertained by big hits and big plays brought on by the players. The game has changed over the years. Players are lifting more weights and getting stronger. Next week, the NFL should take away hitting and play Two-Hand Touch and see how entertaining the game will be. I am sure fans and the players will be bored and no one will want to watch it. Players are not going into games trying to concuss other players. The game is about tackling other players and in the heat of the moment a player is going to tackle a player in any way he can because that is the responsibility of being a football player. I understand the game is violent and is becoming more and more violent as players are getting stronger. Before 1970, the players wore helmets but with no caging to protect their faces. Today, there are special helmets designed to reduce the risk of getting a concussion. If the commissioner wants to reduce hits to the head, he needs to change rules rather than fine and suspend players for something they have been taught their whole lives on how to do.