The NFL has been under siege in recent years from all corners, mandating that the sport become safer. On Monday, first-year San Francisco 49ers linebacker Chris Borland retired, citing fear of his long-term health deteriorating if he continued playing. After a promising rookie season, the 24-year-old had enough.
NFL uses Chris Borland retirement as opportunity to tout football safety
With Borland’s early retirement making headlines, the NFL got out in front with a statement about the safety of the game.
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The NFL senior vice president of health and safety policy Jeff Miller released a statement on Borland’s retirement Tuesday morning, per Adam Schefter:
"We respect Chris Borland’s decision and wish him all the best. Playing any sport is a personal decision. By any measure, football has never been safer and we continue to make progress with rule changes, safer tackling techniques at all levels of football, and better equipment, protocols and medical care for players. Concussions in NFL games were down 25 percent last year, continuing a three-year downward trend. We continue to make significant investments in independent research to advance the science and understanding of these issues. We are seeing a growing culture of safety. Everyone involved in the game knows that there is more work to do and player safety will continue to be our top priority."
The Borland news, coupled with other early retirements this month in Jake Locker and Jason Worilds, creates wonderment over whether this type of early exit could be the future of the league. Locker had an injury history while Worilds and Borland did not, at least at the professional level.
Borland’s decision took many by surprise even within NFL circles, including current and former players. A third-round pick out of the University of Wisconsin, Borland made 102 tackles and recorded two interceptions with a sack in his only professional campaign.
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