31 January 23
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Primary victim in both cases has been the San Francisco 49ers. The February Super Bowl—-the first to be played with opposing black quarterbacks—-will be very different because of it.
The violence came at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles, who did the world the huge favor of upsetting Tom Brady’s New England Patriots in the 2018 finale. This year, their critical hit—-perfectly legal under current NFL rules—-debilitated the young quarterback of the 49ers, whom they then demolished.
Such violence is at the core of modern American football. In the brutal world of the gridiron spectacle, not a single player (except maybe the kickers) can expect to retire without at least one serious injury. That includes multi-millionaire marquee quarterbacks like Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers.
Professional football’s huge hits are relentless and life-threatening. In December a young Buffalo defensive back barely escaped on-the-field death.
For the first time in the history of any major sport (except for the earthquake that almost destroyed SF’s Candlestick Park at the start of the third game of baseball’s 1989 World Series) a whole stadium went vacant. More than 60,000 paying fans unhappily left Cincinnati’s ballpark after the Bills' Damar Hamlin nearly died on its gridiron.
More insidious in the long term may be the regular brain damage done by such “normal” hits. As shown in Will Smith’s “Concussion,” the CTE induced by constant collisions has destroyed the minds of countless footballers—-high school, college, professional—-over the past century-plus.
But football can be played beautifully without lethal mayhem.
Instead of tackling passers, pass catchers and runners, flags stuck in the back of their pants can be grabbed and thrown to the ground. Plays can end gracefully, skillfully and without violence.
This past weekend a rushing Eagle smashed Brock Purdy in the shoulder and elbow. The hit would have been illegal under flag football rules protecting a quarterback. The young (23) QB had improbably led SF to an astonishing season after the 49ers’ first quarterback (Jimmy Garoppolo) was hammered out of action.
Purdy was the last man taken in last year’s draft. His amazing “Mr. Irrelevant” streak to stardom made for countless breathless storylines.
But SF had no equivalent backup (the guy who replaced him soon suffered a concussion) and got crushed in a really boring slaughter.
Which leads us to Colin Kaepernick.
A superb passer and runner, Kaepernick took the 49ers to the 2013 Super Bowl.
But on September 1, 2016, he famously took a knee during the national anthem. His legendary career as an outspoken, effective promoter for social change has since been hugely impactful and impressive.
Inexcusably, Kaepernick’s historic protest also led to the end of his playing tenure with the 49ers. Obscenely attacked by Donald Trump, he has repeatedly offered to suit up again. But no billionaire NFL owner (nor the Green Bay Packers, owned by its fans, but managed by corporatists) has brought Kaepernick back.
There’s no guarantee Kaepernick would’ve won this weekend’s playoff game. But the 34-7 shellacking was not worth the price of admission.
The NFL is masterful at promoting its flawed product. This year no less than Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Sally Field and Rita Moreno star in “Brady 80,” a puffy spoof on 80-somethings who follow their hero to the Super Bowl. Jane said being around the hunky QB made her “weak in the knees.”
But Brady’s own knees are also shot (he’s 45). He lost early in this year’s playoffs. Aaron Rodgers (the only NFL star known to have used ayahuasca) didn’t make them.
Having two young black quarterbacks in the Super Bowl will be a story unto itself.
So is the avoidable violence. Flag football is regularly played by millions of Americans who value their mental and physical health. It does have its own range of injuries.
But as parents and young athletes reject it en masse, the tackle game is not sustainable.
The NFL’s horrifying flood of serious harm must end.
No sport should turn on who gets injured or whose commitments to social change offend the rich and powerful.
Ironically, the league will host a star flag football game on February 5. Let’s hope it signals things to come.
It’s long past time for the NFL to end the violence…and to appropriately honor its true heroes, like Colin Kaepernick.
A former wide receiver, Harvey Wasserman’s People’s Spiral of US History is available via solartopia@gmail.com. Most Mondays (5pm ET) he convenes the Green Grassroots Election Protection Zoom via www.grassrootsep.org.
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