END THE VIOLENCE

I watched the collision between DeSean Jackson of the Philadelphia Eagles and the Atlanta Falcons Dunta Robinson on Sunday and instantly felt sick to my stomach. The hit seemed to epitomize all that is wrong with football recently. The glory given to the biggest hit of the week all seemed about money and macho, and nothing to do with respect for the sport and the players. The push seems to be for the bigger and the better, regardless of who pays the price.

Then I read the article about a Rutgers player, Eric LeGrand, who is paying the ultimate price. Eric is paralyzed from the neck down. He injured his spine in a violent collision on a kickoff return with an Army player during the game on Saturday. LeGrand is currently in Hackensack University Medical Center following surgery to stabilize his spine.

I worry that football is becoming unreasonably violent because it sells tickets and creates drama for the TV audience. The NFL has outlawed helmet to helmet hits, but the player only gets fined for the infraction. If they really meant to outlaw it, they would suspend players for several games for a first offense and banish them from the league for multiple infractions. It would reduce the violence but also the size of the TV audience, and the amount of money advertisers would pay for the ads. To be serious about reducing violence, owners and players would need to make less money. I can't imagine that happening, anymore than I could imagine the owners and players coming together to avoid a strike for the 2011 season. There's way too much money involved, and I guess that money is more important than people.