Introduction
American football is one of the sporting activities with many fans in the United States. Investors, sponsors, and professional footballers in the National Football League (NFL) make huge profits from this sport. Unfortunately, the glory and fame associated with the NFL remain questionable due to the health issues many players face. Some of the medical concerns directly linked to this sport include head injury and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). These challenges many NFL players face form the basis of this discussion. CTE and head injuries are major health problems that many NFL players face during and after their careers and are associated with depression and the inability to pursue life goals. The gaps in the methods intended to address this medical concern explain why stakeholders need to collaborate and present evidence-based clinical guidelines for minimizing the impacts of these medical issues.
Topic Choice and Impacts
The reasoning behind selecting this specific topic is that many people do not appreciate the nature of brain injuries and how they trigger the development of CTE among professional footballers. In most cases, the affected individuals tend to record notable signs and symptoms after completing their careers. Medical experts diagnose CTE once the affected sportsperson has died. These attributes reveal that a huge gap exists in the knowledge and awareness of CTE among different members of society and policymakers (Abreu et al., 2016). The successful completion of the study can shed more light and encourage stakeholders to engage in a new debate that can deliver sustainable solutions.
The selected issue impacts members of the wider society in different ways. First, footballers suffering from CTE would have trouble interacting with others and exhibit various symptoms, such as paranoia, depression, aggression, and anxiety. These breadwinners find it hard to meet the needs of their family members and relatives. When left addressed, the affected professionals would be in need of lifelong psychological support. These efforts are capable of stretching the available social resources and making it impossible to meet the needs of other citizens. In some cases, players diagnosed with CTE or those who suffer repeated head injuries would no longer be able to participate in the sporting activity (Abreu et al., 2016). Such an outcome affects fans and followers of the league. These negative impacts on different members of society explain why timely solutions would be favorable.
Advances and Future of NFL
Past scholars have completed numerous researches that have led to the current understanding of CTE and brain injuries. In 1928, Martland completed a study that introduced the term “punch drunk” to refer to the neurological symptoms among different boxers. In 1949, Critchley coined CTE to describe what used to be called punch drunk earlier (Lindsley, 2017). In 2005, the first investigation focusing on CTE among NFL players was completed (Lindsley, 2017). In 2013, McKee’s work presented a practical criterion for diagnosing this condition. The study focused on the experiences of 36 players in the NFL (Lindsley, 2017). In 2017, McKee performed another investigation that revealed that around 99 percent of all the included players were found to be suffering from CTE (Lindsley, 2017). These advances have made it easier for more stakeholders to appreciate CTE as a major predicament affecting the NFL. Such gains also encourage key stakeholders to focus on additional investigations to diagnose and prevent CTE.
The latest revelations appear problematic and capable of destabilizing the future of this sport. For instance, the emerging findings could discourage more young people from pursuing their careers as footballers. The reports could also compel more communities to stop supporting the sporting activity because of the emerging challenges. Some citizens could start to hold NFL accountable for most of the disorientations many players record after completing their careers (Lindsley, 2017). However, a proper analysis of this predicament could trigger superior measures to support most of the affected players while at the same promoting preventative measures.
The current NFL protocols for concussions and head injuries include calling for a timeout, and escorting the player to receive timely examinations. Coaches, trainers, referees, and teammates can initiate the process. Players should get adequate time to ensure that total recovery is recorded. NFL can improve and limit the percentage of recorded head injuries by introducing better guidelines for targeting and kickoff policies. NFL can also focus on the best approaches to eliminate blindside blocks (Vos et al., 2018). In the future, NFL could launch new programs aimed at bettering and making the sport safer. Professionals can also be included to diagnose and treat head injuries immediately.
Ethical Dilemmas
The latest reports regarding the prevalence of CTE among NFL players reveal that a huge problem exists in this sport. These observations show that most of the investors earn lots of profits at the expense of the rights and future experiences of most of these footballers. The first ethical dilemma arising from these outcomes is the issue of honesty. Over the years, NFL has pursued the sport with the aim of delivering the much-needed profits while entertaining fans. However, members of society do not get the opportunity to learn more about the sources of concussions and brain injuries during sporting activities (Degeneffe & Wood, 2020). The most appropriate explanation is that NFL and other key partners have been hiding critical information about CTE. The second dilemma revolves around the principle of doing no harm. The investors and sponsors of NFL have done very little to minimize cases of injuries and CTE among players. The recorded rate of CTE among players is worrisome and indicates that more people will have increased chances of experiencing the mental issues associated with CTE.
Additionally, the concept of benevolence appears to be poorly applied in this sport. Specifically, players who retire but develop various symptoms related to CTE receive little or no support from NFL. The organizers also ignore the overall experiences and social or economic outcomes of their respective family members. The failure to help most of the affected people presents a unique dilemma that calls for a paradigm shift. The consideration of these ethical concerns can help NFL appreciate the nature of this predicament (Degeneffe & Wood, 2020). The insights could guide the involved organizers to implement proper mechanisms to support the affected players during and after their careers. The emerging ideas can also help key stakeholders to implement the most appropriate solutions to deal with brain injuries and CTE.
Connection to Sociology
The selected topic presents a unique challenge many NFL players continue to encounter during and even after their careers. The outlined ethical concerns show conclusively that most of the leaders have not done a lot to help address the recorded problems. The concepts of sociology could help more analysts to describe how brain injuries and CTE affects members of different communities. For instance, the increasing cases of CTE create numerous obstacles and challenges for more citizens (Malcolm, 2020). The nature of this health problem revolves around the concept of functionalism. Under this framework, sociologists examine the manner in which all social groups and actors are interdependent. The studied issue shows that social groups are directly linked to NFL and all involved sponsors. The failure to report and screen players for CTE appears to affect the current level of functionalism in the wider American society.
In most cases, NFL players tend to be from some of the marginalized racial groups, such as African Americans. The increasing cases of CTE and brain injuries could make a powerful case for applying conflict theory to society. The model guides scholars to pinpoint and study the nature of inequalities and how they have contributed to the current dilemma. Additionally, symbolic interactionism would be applicable to this issue since sociologists would be able to understand how fans relate or interact with their favorite NFL players (Vos et al., 2018). The concept would also present a better perspective for understanding how members of the wider society interact with professional footballers who have developed psychological or mental problems because of brain injuries.
Based on these analyses, it becomes quite clear that the selected topic is directly linked to sociology. The solutions intended to address it should be informed by most of the concepts described in this paper. It would be appropriate for policymakers to consider a multifaceted approach to minimize societal conflicts while promoting a sense of harmony (Corman et al., 2019). The inclusion of all key partners could help improve the sport in such a way that players are able to access the best headgears that minimize the chances of getting head injuries. A sociological approach to this problem could help provide sustainable remedies.
Conclusion
The above discussion has identified brain injuries and CTEs as key problems many NFL players continue to face. The current protocols and preventative measures appear to be inadequate. The outlined ethical dilemmas explain how the identified issues call for immediate responses. The studied topic is also directly linked to the field of sociology. The consideration of the outlined concepts could help reduce the existing conflicts and introduce multifaceted approaches to minimize brain injuries and CTEs among NFL footballers.
References
Abreu, M. A., Cromartie, F. J., & Spradley, B. D. (2016). Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and former National Football League player suicides. The Sport Journal, 21, 1–12.
Corman, S. R., Adame, B. J., Tsai, J. Y., Ruston, S. W., Beaumont, J. S., Kamrath, J. K., Liu, Y., Posteher, K. A., Tremblay, R., & van Raalte, L. J. (2019). Socioecological influences on concussion reporting by NCAA Division 1 athletes in high-risk sports. PLoS ONE, 14(5), e0215424.
Degeneffe, C. E., & Wood, J. L. (2020). The ethical dilemma of chronic traumatic encephalopathy and football: A four paradigm examination. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 4(44), 263-272.
Lindsley, C. W. (2017). Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE): A brief historical overview and recent focus on NFL players. ACS Chemical Neuroscience, 8(8), 1629-1631.
Malcolm, D. (2020). The concussion crisis in sport. London: Routledge.
Vos, B., Nieuwenhuijsen, K., & Sluiter, J. K. (2018). Consequences of traumatic brain injury in professional American football players: A systematic review of the literature. Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, 28(2), 91-99.