EDITOR’S NOTE: Author Irv Muchnick has been covering the big picture on concussions in sports and its broader effects on society in general. In following up with our most recent posts and debates with insiders from the NFLPA on their role in Disability Benefits – or lack thereof – we’re presenting three of Irv’s current posts. . . Posted with the express consent of Irv Muchnick: .
Sports Concussion Crisis a Culture-Wide Problem – Maybe a Post-Ideological One, Too
August 8‚ 2011 .
by Irvin Muchnick .
Writing in The Nation’s special August 15-22 sports issue, currently on newsstands, recently retired Denver Broncos wide receiver turned social critic Nate Jackson reflects on the football concussion crisis. Jackson is short on specifics and long on the banal (“But at what price comes the glory?”). Jackson also makes regrettable separation from the essential theme: traumatic brain injuries are not the same as blown-out knees; the National Football League’s commerce-first values inculcate amateur sports, as well; and the depth and breadth of the resulting societal fallout far exceed the public’s current perception. . continue reading »
Dave Zirin from the The Nation has written a powerful piece which really summarizes the Catch-22 that the NFL faces with regard to brain concussions. We’ve been discussing Malcolm Gladwell’s book The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference around the office cooler for a while now.
