I'm OK!

This is a story about violence in professional sports. Not like the Sprewell case, but carnage in the game. I am an avid sports fan, who has watched or followed most professional sports, especially football, for at least 25 years.

The re-injury of Jerry Rice has precipitated the writing of this essay. I assert that professional ball players are unwisely jeapordizing their future health prospects. Most of the people who I know say that this is because of money. I think that other causes, such as the roar of the crowd, and a manhood ethic in the NFL result in a constant exhortation of the title of this essay.

This past weekend, I and most football fans had never seen before what happened in the Silverdome. Players were stunned and disturbed about the prospects for a rookie, Reggie Brown (i.e. immediate retirement).

Last year I joked with people that Steve Young did not want to sit down after suffering multiple concussions. I imagined the scene between George Seifert and the 49er team doctor as:

Seifert: Can Steve (Young) play this weekend?

M.D.: No, he needs more time to recover!

Seifert: Can you tell him?

M.D.: No. That's your job! I can't help you there.

This past fall, some NHL team (that escapes me) was to make am announcement regarding the retirement of some player in response to multiple concussions he received. I was puzzled about this story because, to my knowledge, this has never happened in the NFL (i.e. team announcing a player's retirement).

Some years ago, I was impressed when I first heard about Troy Aikman throwing a touchdown on a play when he suffered a concussion. I have read that Staubach (certainly one of the all-time best) did not see the catch in many touchdowns he threw.

I stated above that I have a long interest in football. So, I know that there are many photos of (Dick) Butkus playing with bloody limbs; Merlin (Olsen) used to describe his crooked, mutilated fingers while the color announcer for NBC; Jackie Smith, a Cardinal tight end (or safety?) playing with broken ribs; Jim Otto; Dan Hampton; the list goes on. I assume these men could be considered disabled under the government definition. And I saw O.J. wince, climbing stairs during his trials.

Then we come back to Rice. As great, and more, as anyone who ever played. So I kept saying, I don't want Rice to play this weekend, and we don't need him to play yet. But it has been reported that Jerry wanted to play; so he did. And we know the result for the team. We do not know the result for Jerry!