Forget Steroids, Ban the NFL!

Teddy Roosevelt has always been one of my favorite historical figures. The man seemed to have a life full of contradictions. His most famous quote was, "Speak softly and carry a big stick." Yet, he also was a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. He publicly supported conservation of natural resources and the establishment of national parks well before being green was the cool thing to do. After his presidency, though, he spent much of his time hunting.

Though known for his ruggedness, one of TR's greatest crusades was to make football safe. While the game played in his time was mostly a mash of brawling players, it is hard to believe that football is safe even at this time.

Over the course of the previous NFL season, one of the biggest side stories was the outcry from retired players for greater pensions and benefits. The individual tales that have arisen are truly tragic. Once physically dominant men are barely able to walk or do simple tasks of their own volition. Men who were smart and had bright futures ahead of them after football, are haunted by numerous concussions that have impaired their cognitive, emotional, and social processes.

I feel sympathy for these men and their families and hope they eventually receive the help they need. At the same time, many of them will probably tell you that if they could, they would do it all over again. Knowing the consequences that awaited, they would gladly suit up and take the field. No one would dare say that the NFL should be shut down immediately never to be heard from again. Few are even to be willing to speak out like TR and ask for the NFL to be made safer. These men chose their careers and must now live with the consequences of playing through the pain.

Funny, though, that people still offer an argument to ban steroids to protect athletes from themselves. Steroids have long term detriments, the argument goes. Athletes, feeling pressure to win now, will ignore these long term effects for the short term benefits. By keeping steroids illegal and banning them from athletic competitions, we are preventing the athlete from having to make that difficult choice.

Who, though, is protecting a quarterback with a history of concussions from entering the field again? Who is telling the linebacker to not ignore the pain in his back and, instead, tell his coach he needs to take the game off? If we can protect athletes from abusing their bodies with steroids, why can we not step in and protect them from abusing their bodies on the playing field?


The answer to that question is because in both cases, it is ultimately the player's decision. They are the ones who have to deal with the consequences after their playing days have passed. Let them be the ones to decide if they play today. Let them be the ones to decide if they are willing to use steroids.