THE WARRIOR MENTALITY

The reaction of current and former players to the removal of Jay Cutler, quarterback of the Chicago Bears, from the NFC Championship game in the third quarter last Sunday due to a knee injury, just seemed so wrong. Maurice Jones-Drew, a running back for the Jacksonville Jaguars, tweeted: "All I'm saying is that he can finish the game on a hurt knee....I played the whole season on one....". Former player and ESPN analystDeion Sanders wrote:"Folks, i never question a players injury but i do question a players heart."Mark Schlereth, a former Redskins lineman, Mike Ditka, former tight end for the Bears, Asante Samuel, cornerback for the Eagles and Dornell Dockett of the Cardinals all had similar negative remarks to make about Cutler's lack of mental toughness.

What concerns me in this case is the warrior mentality reflected in the comments. Warriors are supposed to be tough and take their share of pain. It also indirectly implies that the game of football is about inflicting pain, with a warrior being somebody who cannot be intimidated by the threat of pain. This mentality also breeds a culture of violence that turns tackling into an attempt to take off somebody's head, or hurt them so badly that they do not want to play. A warrior does whatever it takes to make the other person back down and lose heart for the game.

The warrior mentality threatens the very definition of the game of football. Football is a violent sport as it requires you to stop a player from advancing immediately or they will score points. The idea is to score points by passing or running. That is the game, not to see how many players can be carted off the field. You don't score points for physical damage.

Don't get me wrong. I understand that intimidation is a weapon that can be used. If you can distract somebody from doing their job by making them afraid, it is easier to do your job. I played football. I did well enough to be the target of those threats. I was on the bottom of piles with opposing players ripping out the hair on my legs, biting me, or trying to scratch me. I thought the idea was to ignore the threats, not let the fear stop me, and go play the game. I used the taunts and ugly stuff to motivate me to do even better. Nothing felt better than to score a touchdown and toss the ball in the face of some guy who was threatening me. To me, ignoring the game inside the game was the right way to play the game.

I don't know what the game is anymore. I love football. I don't like violence. Leave that for street gangs and drug lords. I like to see people play the game the right way. I just don't know if the current NFL players know what that is anymore.