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Lem Barney: No football in 20 years


WolfMan

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I've been telling co-workers for about ten years now that the NFL and maybe D1 college ball might be history by 2025 for most of the same reasons Lem says here. (plus insurance costing too much for the college and high school levels)

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/9387994/lem-barney-says-sees-end-football-10-20-years

 

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. -- Bigger, stronger and faster football players are going to kill the sport.

At least that's what Lem Barney believes.

"The game is becoming more deadly today," the Pro Football Hall of Famer said Friday. "It's a great game. I think it's the greatest game if you like gladiators. It's the greatest game for yesteryear's gladiators. But I can see in the next 10 to maybe 20 years, society will alleviate football altogether."

Barney shared his thoughts at the Sound Mind Sound Body Football Academy while sitting next to coaches such as Michigan's Brady Hoke, Michigan State's Mark Dantonio and Wisconsin's Gary Anderson along with Denver Broncos defensive tackle Kevin Vickerson.

The camp's co-founder, Curtis Blackwell, said his goal was to conduct baseline tests on about 600 high school players this week so that the data was available if any of them have head injuries during the season.

Barney is among the hundreds of former football players suing the NFL over how it handled head injuries.

"I found out after I was out of the game that I had seven, maybe eight concussions," he said.

While none of the coaches backed Barney's belief that football won't exist in a decade or two, Vickerson said the notion isn't far-fetched.

"They're trying to make the game safer, but it's a gladiators' sport and there's only so much safety you can bring to it," Vickerson said. "The best thing we can do is give these kids tools to learn how to tackle the right away."

Concussion awareness was part of the program for high school football players, who packed an auditorium as Dantonio used practice video to show how the Spartans are taught to avoid head injuries.

"Tackling is not a science, it's an art," Dantonio said.

Hoke, who praised Dantonio for his presentation, said providing instruction is one way to combat the dangers of playing fast, hard-hitting football.

"Is it a contact game, sometimes violent? There's no question," Hoke said. "But at the same time, I think there are better ways that we can continue to teach.

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Unfortunately for Lem, he will be long gone before the NFL.

 

As long as money can be made having a National Football League it will exist, regardless of whether or not the players’ brains are being turned to mush. The almighty dollar ALWAYS finds a way.

 

Interesting read nonetheless. Thanks for the article, Wolf. You always have the most unique stuff and I enjoy reading your posts

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Actually Lem said "society will alleviate football altogether."

 

That means to relieve or end suffering. That makes sense, the problems should be fixed.

 

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Unfortunately for Lem, he will be long gone before the NFL.

 

As long as money can be made having a National Football League it will exist, regardless of whether or not the players’ brains are being turned to mush. The almighty dollar ALWAYS finds a way.

 

Interesting read nonetheless. Thanks for the article, Wolf. You always have the most unique stuff and I enjoy reading your posts

And why is there money to be made? Because people love to watch the game of football. I don't have a problem with that. The "almighty" dollar doesn't scare me either, I kind of like them and like the idea I can make and spend as many as I like.

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  • 3 weeks later...

It's a violent sport played by men who have always been bigger, faster and know how to hit harder than the rest of the world. The dirty tricks and blatantly nasty hits that players used to get away with in the 80's and before have been legislated out, and for good reason. The players now are much bigger, much faster and stronger than ever. Even the greats like Jim Brown and Marion Motley would not be the superstars they were in their time if they played now.

 

I think trying to make an unsafe sport safer is time and effort well spent. Because of it's inherently violent nature, there will always be severe injuries to players. If that ever changes, it's because the NFL has been made into a faster version of ping pong without the table and paddles.

 

The NFL can't have it both ways. It can't be made super-safe and still be a game where the biggest and best athletes on the planet hurl themselves at each other for 60 minutes, once a week. The obscene amounts of money that some players make doesn't justify putting their lives in danger every time they play or practice. I see the money as a hedge against the risk they take by playing a dangerous sport. It's a roll of the dice, but it can pay insanely well.

 

Making changes to eliminate or cut down on brain injuries that cost players their lives can only be seen as a positive step. Will they ever eliminate concussions? No. Can they improve equipment and tweak the rules to decrease the frequency of concussion? Yes, and I think they should.

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I would be willing to bet the number of concussions has been reduced significantly over the past 5 - 10 years. Better equipment, rules emphasis, greater awareness, better medical research all make a huge difference. If you've watched any football in the past few years, you've seen how seriously head injuries have become. Almost every player who has any type of helmet to helmet contact is immediately paid attention to on the sideline.

 

1 rule change that would have a significant additional impact would be to ban the use of face masks and possibly helmets. Players would immediately find ways other than leading with their head.

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  • 3 weeks later...
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Anyone who says that football is going away, or will be drastically changed, is so out of touch with reality that it's comical.

 

In an age where we saw the explosion of the bloody and brutal ultimate fighting, we are going to see the end of the sport played with most protective gear? Am I supposed to believe that?

 

Laughable!

 

They will just make football players sign no-lawsuit clauses that obsolve the league and teams of any responsibility.

 

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