Is American football morally defensible?

Is American football morally defensible?

  • Yes

    Votes: 18 66.7%
  • No

    Votes: 9 33.3%

  • Total voters
    27
It wouldn't be much different. Basketball has no (legal) tackles, and they virtually never happen, but stars have been deliberately injured. Even if the sport doesn't include jumping, it will still include momentum, so the player on a mission will see to place his bulky self at the right position for you to be harmed.
 
Only when the Falcons win (right Lymond?)
Yes, ma'am! GO DIRTY BIRDS!!!! ;)

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I don't see this as a problem.

Yep, it's a good thing. It's just annoying from the pov of a gamer (or actual manager) trying to make the most of their transfer and wage budgets. But of course the actual impact on young players around the planet is millions of times more important.
 
Why not just make it touch/flag instead of tackle?
Presumably, you'd have to ban blocking along with tackling. Some level of headtrauma is basically inevitable with blocking. To really optimize safety, a low risk tolerance approach would need to ban physicality.

Arwon mentioned it, subconcussive impacts are really important here. Everybody focuses on the big hits, which are actually pretty easy to legislate outta the game. That's actionable without fundamental change. But subconcussive impacts you pretty much live with. As long as physicality is present, like in blocking, or even tackles beneath the waist, a,fairly high risk CTE risk will be too.

Take it away, and at that point, you've changed the way the sport is played, looks, and is experience really drastically. There are no longer any linemen. It's 6 on 6 or 7 on 7. Number of players changes. The QB can no longer be rushed, pressure being pretty fundamental to defensive techniques.

You could do that, but it's effecfively banning football and creating something else. Concepts like pass routes would be inherited from football, position names, but it'd be something else.
 
US society is violent in the first place, likely more than the average, so popular sports can't but reflect that. In Europe, at least football was born out of poor areas and immediately linked to a dream of getting away from poverty by prowess in some primarily physical set of abilities - and there was a lot of talk of banning football back then, even Kafka mentions it in... passing.
There is also the bastardized and otherwise altered element of heroism, though anyone can see those sports don't tie to (say) Spartans being elite warriors in actual life and death combat.
 
I stopped watching pro ball about four or five years ago. CTE. I don't blame anybody. You get the most physically able people--strong, fast--they train and train to be stronger and faster and excellent at their position, which in many cases involves decisive colliding. The human body isn't meant to take that kind of collision. Pad and helmet technology can only mitigate so much. Rules can only mitigate so much. There is just going to be a certain amount of brain damage.

I'm not 100% consistent. I generally watch the Super Bowl. I might catch one game in the course of the season.
 
Is there a solution to how much harder this will make it to stop passes during a tackle? Or is that considered an advantage, to encourage running rugby?
I suspect more running would only be a plus, the game is kinda very slow. Though I tend to think of in-tackle offloads as more of a rugby league phenomenon.
 
Tbh this thread would be more interesting if "n football" was removed from the title
I am not sure; while obviously there are very many utterly nasty people in US government/society, there are also many of high quality. Physical sports, on the other hand, have a history of promoting (as outlet with incentive) violence.
 
It serves a social purpose. All sports do. It gives young men a chance to belong to something bigger than themselves. Which, in the midst of the decline of faith, is vital. Some percentage of kids would end up in gangs without it and until we address the drug culture, we need all the help we can get. The pros outweigh the cons imo.
End up in gangs lol
 
via copilot:

Many coaches have emphasized the positive impact of sports in keeping kids out of trouble by providing structure, discipline, and a sense of community. Here are a few notable examples:

Mike Krzyzewski (Coach K) - The legendary Duke University basketball coach has often spoken about how sports can teach valuable life skills such as teamwork, leadership, and perseverance, which can help keep kids focused and out of trouble.


Tony Dungy - The former NFL coach and current sports analyst has been a strong advocate for using sports as a tool for youth development. He believes that sports can provide a positive outlet and help instill important values.


Phil Jackson - Known for his successful coaching career in the NBA, Jackson has highlighted the role of sports in teaching discipline and providing a constructive environment for young people.


Pat Summitt - The late University of Tennessee women’s basketball coach was a proponent of using sports to build character and keep young athletes engaged in positive activities.
 
via copilot:

Many coaches have emphasized the positive impact of sports in keeping kids out of trouble by providing structure, discipline, and a sense of community. Here are a few notable examples:

Mike Krzyzewski (Coach K) - The legendary Duke University basketball coach has often spoken about how sports can teach valuable life skills such as teamwork, leadership, and perseverance, which can help keep kids focused and out of trouble.


Tony Dungy - The former NFL coach and current sports analyst has been a strong advocate for using sports as a tool for youth development. He believes that sports can provide a positive outlet and help instill important values.


Phil Jackson - Known for his successful coaching career in the NBA, Jackson has highlighted the role of sports in teaching discipline and providing a constructive environment for young people.


Pat Summitt - The late University of Tennessee women’s basketball coach was a proponent of using sports to build character and keep young athletes engaged in positive activities.
There a plenty of team sports that do not cause brain damage.
 
There a plenty of team sports that do not cause brain damage.
ChatGPT providing quotes from coaches saying sports help youth gain positive identities and direction doesn't validate a "sports vs gangs" mental model to begin with.

He's just describing the plot of Coach Carter basically
Funny how that works.
 
ChatGPT providing quotes from coaches saying sports help youth gain positive identities and direction doesn't validate a "sports vs gangs" mental model to begin with.


Funny how that works.

It doesn't even validate that those coaches actually said those things.
 
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