"I Am Quitting Football."

NFL

I have uttered those words several times over the past few weeks. I have stated a personal choice, nothing more. It sure does not feel like it.

“I am quitting football,” sounds as if I am kicking a drug habit. I am. I am attempting to distance myself from the addiction that is football. I love and consume sports, but my personal belief is that football is the most dangerous flavor.

“I am quitting football” is not met with “good for you!” It is not welcomed with open arms. There are no empathetic and curious responses. Instead, there are curt “what do you mean?” reactions. There are the “yeah, right…” and “good luck with that…” retorts.

After the initial put down for stating my newfound desire, I interject my explanation, nay, my defense. I tell them that I read League of Denial, a book about the NFL and concussions, and that I can no longer overlook the overwhelmingly life destructive results of playing football. I claim that I can no longer support a sport that is so effective at crushing brains and thus destroying families along the way. It is far graver than just the buzzword concussion.

I brought my beliefs to a law school social gathering one evening. When I brought up Legal of Denial I was rebutted with “who wrote the book? I bet some foreigner.” At the moment I did not have the answer so I conceded that foreigner possibility, thus somehow giving credence to the always-faulty ad-hominem attack. (In fact, the brother authors are California natives.)

I reflected on this foreigner argument. Why does that matter? As if talking against football is somehow un-American? Americans are supposed to love football and if you do not love football, you do not love America. “It’s tradition.” I vehemently disagree. I cannot and will not blindly follow some “American way.” My family has fought too hard to educate me on such historical follies. At one time, protecting “Americans” was once justification for sending my American family to internment camps. Explain to me why football is so necessarily an American way of life. I need sound arguments better than “that’s just how it is.”

“As long as man has existed, there have been blood sports. Your individual effort will not change anything.” While the end result may end up true, I will not personally fall in line with that standard of living. Racism has always existed, so should I just be racist then? Violence has always existed, so should I be violent? I understand my financial contribution to football is infinitely negligible, but my voice and ability to educate are not. When people hear that their sports-crazed, knowledgeable, Gold-Blooded fan of a friend chose to walk away from a passion for moral reasons, maybe some will listen. Maybe some will read up for themselves. Maybe some will entertain change.

Maybe not. My first effort was to post to Facebook this ESPN Chris Borland piece about the man who quit professional football after a stellar and promising rookie season because he considered his long-term health. I received zero likes and zero comments. Ouch, that is not going to reinforce my confidence…

But the science is out there, however suppressed it is. (Seriously, read the book.) It is like Climate Change denial. Sure, we have not proven 100% causal link that repeatedly bashing your head results in brain damage, but c’mon? The correlative data we do have is strong. We have difficulties running and testing exact football experiments on living brain tissue, just like we cannot create an exact replica earth to experiment climate change forces.

“Everyone knows the risks when they play football. They are choosing that.” No, they are not truly aware nor fully educated on the ramifications. Parents and children are not making informed decisions that a commitment to a sport they love can so easily by its very nature cause you to lose your mind. If parents knew, would they gamble their child’s well being?

I discussed this issue with a colleague and he informed me of the sad future. The reality is that affluent, well-educated families will not let their children play football. The impoverished and uneducated will suffer. They will be the ones taking risks with their lives so that the rest of us can thirst off their sacrifice. Do I really want to be a part of that future? I am not calling for an absolute end of football. Instead, I am hoping and campaigning for an evolution of the sport. A sport more tactical and skilled than bone-crushing.

My father has always had a position against football. He is not a sports fan, but has always supported my sports life. I cannot remember a single game I played growing up that he and my mother did not attend. He never banned me taking joy in watching the Niners and others, but he never fully joined in. Furthermore, playing football was not an option for me, simple as that. A year or so ago my father sternly spoke to me that football is a gladiator sport and history will view it archaic as such. He was almost emotional in his stance and I listened. I could not disagree with his points. When I realized I had a weaker counterargument, I reexamined my position and was sparked to read League of Denial and here I am.

How do I get away? I am not sure. The first step I took was to schedule my Sundays. I told my friend to start a team in that Sunday co-ed “recreational” league he previously played. Yes, in order to feel better about my life choices I will play some sports and go to a bar. A plan is better than no plan.

My foremost problem is that I will not be able to go cold turkey. I have commitments to my friends and fantasy football leagues that I cannot skirt last minute. I will participate in these leagues and still must be somewhat receptive to talking football for at least another year until I can swap out. This means probably reading and following stats while trying to limit watching. I will probably lose friendships and certainly acquaintances as a result. 

A relapse could very much be on the horizon. If the Niners are making a playoff push or if UCLA is on the national championship radar will I be so noble? I cannot say. What I can say is that quitting football will affect my reputation for better or for worse. I have no problem with that because as my favorite philosopher John Wooden would say it is character that truly counts.