Safety in the NFL has been the topic of discussion over the past few years. Right now, it's easy to pick on the sport due to the research completed in regard to CTE. Yet, we are reminded that football really is a dangerous sport, and it's not typical to have a car crash-like injury.
In recent news, Andrew Luck was recently diagnosed with a lacerated kidney and partially torn abdominal muscle. The injuries that Luck received were compared to an injury that could have occurred in a car crash. Out of thousands of plays on a week-to-week basis, the percentages are absurdly low for a player to get an injury that he would receive while getting into a car accident.
Dr. Lewis Jacobson, chief of trauma at St. Vincent Trauma Center in Indianapolis, stated to the Indianapolis Star that Luck's diagnosis is quite unusual for an athletic injury.
“We most commonly see this kind of injury associated with motor vehicle crashes or motorbike crashes. We do see about a half-dozen per year related to contact sports. It’s just not very common.
[...]"The kidney is protected by deep muscle and the ribcage. It would take a direct hit to cause this kind of injury. There might be no need for surgery, but they do require rest and preventing further injury.”
That direct hit to Luck was caused by Danny Trevathan of the Denver Broncos. Here's the footage:
Video of hit believed to have injured Andrew Luck. Luck takes massive blow from two Broncos defenders https://t.co/Z2Uq4hDcQC
— Around The NFL (@AroundTheNFL) November 10, 2015
The gladiator sport moniker has been frowned upon as of late. For decades, the physical nature of football was adored, but now that talk has begun to somewhat subside. Does this now mean that the game of football is getting soft? I'd say yes to a certain extent, but we have to draw a line on what's safe and what's not safe.
Concussion protocol has been a great addition in ideally stopping these athletes from playing when they are not suppose to. However, I honestly feel that the NFL is more concerned about potential lawsuits from ex-players and families of ex-players more than player safety.
After watching the play and being told it was like a car crash, should there be car crash protocol added to the NFL? Injuries are a given to happen in any sport, but why does football continue to get the brunt of the criticism when it comes to injuries?
I agree that taking injuries should always be taken seriously, but should we pump the brakes on likening uncommon football injuries to car crashes? Or is this just reality of football, and even suffering a lacerated spleen isn't a surprise anymore?