NFL Helmets: People Want to Redesign Them or Ditch Them Altogether
Wednesday was a notably bad day for the football helmet. Either graphic designers were drubbing their outward appearance while making mockup replacements (which, depending on your taste, are even more of an eyesore) or safety experts were advocating in the press that they be done away with entirely.↵↵The former, obviously, is not nearly as much an issue as the latter (not that aesthetics aren’t vital). The long-term debilitating effects of playing football haven’t been a shock to anyone for some time but the subject is once again prominently figuring in the public sports discourse these past few months. Not that that isn’t long overdue.↵
↵↵As with any glaring problem, there are modest innovations that help matters incrementally, such as the new mouthguards that work to prevent one of the types of concussions players suffers. Then there sweeping proposals put forward that the NFL should eliminate helmets wholesale. It’s an idea that at first blush sounds patently foolish, but is firmly rooted in logic. Helmets, the argument goes, give players a false sense of invulnerability, which causes them to hurtle themselves headfirst harder and faster than they otherwise would.↵
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↵In the Wall Street Journal article, the Australian Football League is cited as an example for how a helmet-less league would result in fewer significant head injuries. It is noted, however, that without pads, AFL players suffer more serious shoulder and knees injuries. And head injuries in the AFL are waved off as freak occurrence though one would like to know the severity of the injuries incurred in the event of such freak occurrences.↵
↵↵The ultimate crux with the elimination of the helmet is whether you want to fundamentally change the nature of the game. No small decision, of course. By now, it’s safe to say the public is accepting of (most would argue in fact drawn to) the savage and debilitating nature of football. What mostly incites rancor against the league is the refusal to treat the injuries that result and take care of the players after their careers are over. ↵
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This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.
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