The Blue Board

Looks like basketball has more contact than nffl now

Ha, the only good thing the Browns have going for them is a dude who lowers his head and destroy's on coming tacklers. T-Rich will become the most penalized player in the NFL next year...

Why don't they just make the players sign a release? What is UFC doing to reduce concussions ? Not a goddamn thing. The bloodier the better

I'm not a lawyer but I assume it's because releases are infinitely challengeable in court. Also there is an obvious assumption of risk in something like the UFC - where the goal, definitively, is smashing your opponent's brains in.

Every new rule is a craven, immoral attempt to shield themselves from future litigation. Releases scream actionable negligence and indifference. New rules say "we care, and we are doing everything we can".

The reality is that if they truly gave two fvcks about the players they'd simply carve out .05% of their collective annual earnings to provide them with long term health care after they're out of the league.

In reality the sport would have cannibalized itself within 20 years with no rule changes. There is so much money being made now and too many old footballers who can barely get around want a piece of the pie they helped create. Lawsuits such as the class action one involving 4,000 former NFL players and players' wives are what has caused this influx of new "safety" rules. The NFL absolutely has to show dramatic rule changes or the supreme court will bankrupt them eventually. They have to be able to say to a former player or wife, "See all the rules we are now making for patient safety, we do care."
I don't blame Goodell for these changes. He is the CEO of the NFL and as any good CEO would do he has to prevent his company from collapsing. I think there are at least 2 reason why he is hated though. 1) He is the face of the rule change and the easiest to point the finger at even though it's the owners that want this to happen 2) He comes across as disingenuous when everyone knows the rules aren't as much for the well being of the players as they are to keep the NFL rolling yet he still present it under a safety umbrella. And as much as the meat head football watcher wants to make comments like "Why don't they just put tutus on and be done with it" people will still watch the NFL. If the NFL does go under it won't be because of lack of interest; it will be because the money being made is not enough to keep up with the money going out because of the lawsuits.

"The reality is that if they truly gave two fvcks about the players they'd simply carve out .05% of their collective annual earnings to provide them with long term health care after they're out of the league."

Option B would be for the players who are willingly playing a game that they know could have harsh long term consequences to carve out a portion of their substantial earnings to pay for their long term needs.
Not sure i see how the NFL eschewing any attempts to make the game safer and instead offering long term health care to players is somehow compassionate. "Here. Keep banging your head and using your torso for a missile. Makes it fun for the fans. In 20 years we will pay for a nurse to change your diapers after you shit and drool all over yourself." That's compassion?
Is the league going too far? Maybe.

Compassion is a relative term I guess. Compassion, or caring, to me is saying, "Hey, we understand this is a violent game. We do not think you are pieces of meat and we care about your well being beyond the limited time you will be able to play. We understand that not everyone will make Joe Fluke-o dollars and if you have medical issues going forward they can become a financial burden."

I can't speak to every legal strategy, or the contradictions therein. Bottom line is that they do not care about player safety. They care about preserving their financial interests. But I can see the difficult position they're in... I mean, all of a sudden football is being positioned like it's rollerball.

What makes it fun for the fans is the game of football. Not a neuron-exploding kill-shot on every play. They are changing the game by installing rules that are completely subjective. Was that a great hit or an egregiously violent penalty? Lets go to the booth for twenty minutes... Was that PI or two guys going for the ball? Jesus, who the hell knows. Flag it now, don't later, wait, the crowd groaned better call it, etc. etc. Christ, PAC 12 games are averaging 6 hours and 128 penalties now. It's absurd.