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This guy has been playing football his entire life. Fear? Really? How about selfish thinking about his own career vs team. I dont know what the story is but if you are able to and dont go to battle with your team you need to be cut!

I agree that he should be on the team if he can't get out there. But I would feel selfish saying that he should put his health and his family at risk for this. I would blame him perhaps for taking our draft pick by not knowing earlier, but who knows when you have these revelations? I know that Borland talked about having it before the draft. Thomas hasn't even retired or said anything yet.

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You are exactly right.  Concussions repeated too close together can be life destroying.  The movie was right.  The statistics don't lie. The Chiefs are right in their new approach and caution.  The Chiefs are in the lead, and every team will follow...rightfully so.  Once again, I have to post this pic.  Ole' Bulldog had the IQ of a bulldog before he even made this hit.  Otherwise, he wouldn't have made it.

 

screenshot_402_zpskn2bggld.jpg

Its his right to do what he feels best for his own health. He does not owe us one thing when it comes to his personal safety or what he believes is in his best interest. 

 

I didn't play a lot of organized football. I got hurt, and was steered towards other sports. I have had concussions though. They are scary. I won't go into great details, but suffice it to say you know when something isn't right.

 

I boxed a little, mostly at the Boy's club. We had the training, and the right gear. Occasionally some kid would want to challenge me outside the ring. I had a friend who used to get headaches from playing football. He would take a bunch of aspirin before practice. His position coach did not like me. (I was in his geometry class, and screwed around. I guess he was right to think I was some kind of a punk. I did absolutely nothing, and pulled out the bonus points, which should have guaranteed me an A for the class. He ended up giving me a C, when really, I should have failed.) Anyway, this idiot coach made my friend fight me. Now, I knew he had headaches, and I knew it was a setup. I avoided it as long as I could. Finally, one day, signs were all over the school. As I walked home, a crowd of about fifty students formed a ring around us. I had to fight. The coach was a complete butt hole. This is the way it was back then. I am surprised more kids didn't get seriously hurt. Grown up men, who should have known better, got off by pushing kids around. I guess, it probably still happens to some degree today. Hopefully, they have a few more controls. 

 

I don't know what is going on with DAT. Frankly, if he plays its his business. If he decides he wants to go to Art school, like our TE a couple years back, then its his call. I am a fan of the team. That does not give me the right to control someone else's life. A contract in the NFL can be torn up at anytime. Players, such as DAT can be left injured, and outside of the money in a heartbeat. In the end, it is just a game. The guy is 174 lbs soaking wet. I know he's tough. I've seen him. There is a lot of basic physics going on out there. A little guy just does not stand as much of a chance. The impacts are harder. The amount of concussions from return specialists are disproportionate to all other positions. That is why the league is looking at ways to diminish the big hits in the kicking game. 

 

To be specific, I care a lot more about DAT than a football game. Whether he plays or not, or when he plays or not, I'm OK with his decision. 

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I have mentioned this before, back in the 70's I received a concussion playing football. My doctor told me what a concussion was and how it could affect me in the future, he also told me that I would probably get more if I continued playing. Like all red blooded American boys who believed they were bullet proof I continued playing.

 

Now, if I knew this and my doctor knew this in the mid 70's then first of all why do these players, doctors, owners, etc act like it's a relatively new thing? Secondly why do player's take the money for a few years and then see the light saying it's not worth it.

 

Sorry folks information on concussions have been around as long as information on cancer from smokes. I have no sympathy for those who ignore the information then get hurt and then want sympathy.

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I have mentioned this before, back in the 70's I received a concussion playing football. My doctor told me what a concussion was and how it could affect me in the future, he also told me that I would probably get more if I continued playing. Like all red blooded American boys who believed they were bullet proof I continued playing.

 

Now, if I knew this and my doctor knew this in the mid 70's then first of all why do these players, doctors, owners, etc act like it's a relatively new thing? Secondly why do player's take the money for a few years and then see the light saying it's not worth it.

 

Sorry folks information on concussions have been around as long as information on cancer from smokes. I have no sympathy for those who ignore the information then get hurt and then want sympathy.

A couple of thoughts:

 

1. The NFL has more money than it did before. This creates two things. One, less sympathy from the public for the NFL needing to pay for this and second, more money for the players go after.

 

2. Players are bigger now and the incentive to get those hits are bigger now than it was before or they are at least the same. There might be fewer obvious hits due to penalties in the game, but overall, doesn't take that much to get a concussion.

 

3. The NFL is greedy, but the bigger reason is precedence. They don't want to get locked into a precedence of covering everything for every player. Players that only played their rookie year also sue or retiring early due to it is only negative evidence, so it's not a thing for just the few who played a long time. The NFL also does not want to pay for college's big hits.

 

4. Regardless of whether this would've stopped litigation or not, which I don't think it would, the NFL didn't do enough early to lower the consequences and they're not doing enough as far as coverage goes now. See previous comments for why they don't just start paying for it. (Precedence.)

 

5. There's a legal term called subsequent remediation. Normally, a plaintiff cannot use the efforts to fix a problem as evidence that there was a problem before the injury. For example, if someone slips and falls on a sidewalk of a business who did not adequately ice their sidewalks, putting ice on the sidewalk after the fall cannot be used as evidence to show that they were negligent in not putting the ice on the sidewalk before. They don't want to allow the evidence of a fix in because then businesses would not fix the problems and they would continue to exist. People would then be put at risk over and over. Fixing a problem should not put your current case in jeopardy. This works for an individual case, but I'm skeptical that it is fully observed in big time lawsuits. It's just hard to know when they learned of what they should do. It doesn't help that they haven't done it yet. This lawsuit came a long time after they could've responded so it would apply to previous cases.

 

6. I am not and never will be tough enough for what they do. Having said that, I don't think the players are as tough as they were before. When players won't tough it out, it makes more players walk away and that creates more reason and motivation to sue from others who might have otherwise just went on with their sad state.

 

7. Are you still reading? Thank you if you are.

 

8. The longer the NFL exists, the more players who have played are old enough to experience the bigger consequences. Also, when somebody goes to sue, others will jump in. There is more social media and more people who don't know the history of the NFL but assume that this is a new thing.

 

9. Suing for something doesn't mean they didn't know before they went into it. It's just that they have a reward now. They took it as hypothetical, they felt invincible, or they didn't truly appreciate what would happen. Or I guess for a few, it could be seen as double dipping, as in getting a lot of money for doing it and then getting a lot of money for the injury. But those who have seen the actual consequences won't feel that way in some cases. It's like people who will take a drug that says that it could kill you, but be upset that you had stomachaches when it didn't tell you. But, it's probably true, that these players don't actually get a lot afterwards for it and how to quantify the real consequences is hard. Whether the NFL is responsible for it or if it is a known risk that people take, is a matter of opinion.

 

10. I wonder if all the bleeding hearts for these players think about these consequences when they lament that the NFL is becoming a touch football league? Do they ridicule the NFL for not taking more responsibility for these hits, ignore any risks that the player knew they were getting into, ignore the money at these players had received that could pay for the medical consequences, and lament the touch football rules? Or are they going to accept that the rules to protect players are made in part to lower those consequences? I know that I'm setting up a strawman in this argument, because one side can think one thing and the other side can think another and I'm putting them together as if they are one person.

 

11. But the public at large is a strawman. The public could be the one that keeps this going and they could be the one that gets it to stop (NFL shutting down). The NFL could cease to exist if the public support goes far enough or the NFL could be invincible. I guess I would say, be careful for what you wish for. You are either causing more harm by supporting it or you're slowly causing the league to either make rules so bad that you no longer support it or cease to exist in the future by supporting litigation. Depends on what your goal is and the numbers. The numbers right now, are overwhelmingly in support of the league as far as support, but there have been enough changes that the public don't like due to these lawsuits and concerns. That might not be a bad thing, but it's relevant.

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A couple of thoughts? Crap. Eleven thoughts. And long ones at that. Spend some time with the folks at Readers Digest counselor. I had to.

It wasn't meant to be 11, I promise. I actually had only three things in mind when I went to dictate that on my speech recognition phone. :D

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I am a firm believer that the NFL doesn't really care to curtail concussions, but just give the image that they are. I think that if they were serious about getting rid of the repeated collisions that cause CTE, they'd be seriously looking at getting rid of the 3 and 4 point stances. 

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I wasn't trying to strike at you personally. If you're not free to share sources, I understand. I have a source by hearsay that colors my viewpoint, but since such sources are not without their limitations and some risk of misinformation, when it comes to my own comments I'm careful that I don't stray too far from what is reported publicly so long as what's publicly available has some credibility. The 49ers present a strange case in that their current public information dissemination strategies have gone from being straightforward to a mix of misinformation and non-information.

 

With regard to the 49ers, I don't know what to believe any longer. I used to think that Jim Harbaugh was solely responsible for the promotion of Kaepernick over Smith, but information that has been leaked and developments that followed Jim Harbaugh's departure indicated that Colin Kaepernick was unquestionably intended for the starting quarterback role to begin 2015, and that in turn suggested that Jim Harbaugh ended up being a scapegoat for someone that remained inside the 49ers' organization. Whether that was for Jed York, Trent Baalke, Jim Tomsula, or someone else, I just don't know, and I don't expect to know until at least sometime after the departures of Colin Kaepernick, Jim Tomsula, and Trent Baalke.

 

I would be happy to entertain your opinion on this regardless of how divergent it was from what I presently understand, but because there were elements in the account you provided that did not match up with certain known facts, I pointed them out. As for myself, I am not a source of information; I can only interpret what I come to know. My background in football is limited and not worth mentioning. If I strongly believe something, I will generally state my reasons for doing so, and will stick by them even if for a time the viewpoint is unpopular. Sometimes I end up being right, and sometimes I end up being wrong. In any case, I would hate to think that in the course of disagreement I was being uncivil, or would be thought of by others as being so, so for the reason that I was less than tactful in my response to you, I do apologize.

I also did not men to call you out. I said it in a crappy way, but I just meant that I OK with people not believing me. I appoligize as well for reacting that way.

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I also did not men to call you out. I said it in a crappy way, but I just meant that I OK with people not believing me. I appoligize as well for reacting that way.

The only thing I knew was that they sent Alex to scout Kap and they felt very highly of Kap as a person. Rough childhood but I don't specifically know why. It was called to my attention that when Kap kissed his bicep he was actually kissing a bible verse. I can't recall what it was.

 

Any connection between this conversation and Harbaugh is pure speculation on my part. I was just saying that I can see where ownership and coaches can get cross ways and that Harbaugh seems like a guy that doesn't really care about the politics just winning.

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I have mentioned this before, back in the 70's I received a concussion playing football. My doctor told me what a concussion was and how it could affect me in the future, he also told me that I would probably get more if I continued playing. Like all red blooded American boys who believed they were bullet proof I continued playing.

That explains a lot.

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The only thing I knew was that they sent Alex to scout Kap and they felt very highly of Kap as a person. Rough childhood but I don't specifically know why. It was called to my attention that when Kap kissed his bicep he was actually kissing a bible verse. I can't recall what it was.

 

Any connection between this conversation and Harbaugh is pure speculation on my part. I was just saying that I can see where ownership and coaches can get cross ways and that Harbaugh seems like a guy that doesn't really care about the politics just winning.

 

His tattoos were biblical because I think he must be Christian or religious in some way, but his bicep kissing was an FU to those who didn't like a QB to be tattooed. There was a strongly worded article that came to his attention that questioned a tattooed man to be the face of the Franchise, as he is the CEO of football, so to speak.

 

Harbaugh probably used politics to get what he wanted, but often what he wanted was linked to some winning advantage.

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Its his right to do what he feels best for his own health. He does not owe us one thing when it comes to his personal safety or what he believes is in his best interest. 

 

I didn't play a lot of organized football. I got hurt, and was steered towards other sports. I have had concussions though. They are scary. I won't go into great details, but suffice it to say you know when something isn't right.

 

I boxed a little, mostly at the Boy's club. We had the training, and the right gear. Occasionally some kid would want to challenge me outside the ring. I had a friend who used to get headaches from playing football. He would take a bunch of aspirin before practice. His position coach did not like me. (I was in his geometry class, and screwed around. I guess he was right to think I was some kind of a punk. I did absolutely nothing, and pulled out the bonus points, which should have guaranteed me an A for the class. He ended up giving me a C, when really, I should have failed.) Anyway, this idiot coach made my friend fight me. Now, I knew he had headaches, and I knew it was a setup. I avoided it as long as I could. Finally, one day, signs were all over the school. As I walked home, a crowd of about fifty students formed a ring around us. I had to fight. The coach was a complete butt hole. This is the way it was back then. I am surprised more kids didn't get seriously hurt. Grown up men, who should have known better, got off by pushing kids around. I guess, it probably still happens to some degree today. Hopefully, they have a few more controls. 

 

I don't know what is going on with DAT. Frankly, if he plays its his business. If he decides he wants to go to Art school, like our TE a couple years back, then its his call. I am a fan of the team. That does not give me the right to control someone else's life. A contract in the NFL can be torn up at anytime. Players, such as DAT can be left injured, and outside of the money in a heartbeat. In the end, it is just a game. The guy is 174 lbs soaking wet. I know he's tough. I've seen him. There is a lot of basic physics going on out there. A little guy just does not stand as much of a chance. The impacts are harder. The amount of concussions from return specialists are disproportionate to all other positions. That is why the league is looking at ways to diminish the big hits in the kicking game. 

 

To be specific, I care a lot more about DAT than a football game. Whether he plays or not, or when he plays or not, I'm OK with his decision. 

I agree.  And it is also true that the majority of NFL players are poor kids from difficult circumstances growing up, and their size and skills are the only way to lift themselves up out of poverty and set their families on better footing for a few generations.  They make their decisions from that perspective, knowing that they will likely suffer permanent brain damage, as 70% of former NFL players statistically do.  So, it comes down to how much of a choice is it, really?  Especially for a kid in his early or mid 20's.  The NFL knows very well that the money will be the deciding factor.  The NFL is a conglomerate of giant corporations, all of who are in business for the same reason as any other business...to make money. Their decisions are based on that, not on morality.

 

I find it fascinating in a morbid sort of way that professional boxing even exists.  That is a "sport" whose entire goal is to create a concussion in the opponent sufficient to cause loss of consciousness.  Those kids are also poor.  And every one of those professional boxers end up with brain atrophy ("punch drunk").  These athletes are gladiators - there for the entertainment of spectators who are well-to-do and able to pay ridiculous prices for tickets to watch the poor folks injure themselves and others.  There is a reason that many of the stadiums are referred to as "colosseums."  Despite my awareness of this sad truth, I cannot help myself from enjoying and following this amazing sport of violence,  strategy, and skill. It is a metaphor for humankind's historical journey and its drive.

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His tattoos were biblical because I think he must be Christian or religious in some way, but his bicep kissing was an FU to those who didn't like a QB to be tattooed. There was a strongly worded article that came to his attention that questioned a tattooed man to be the face of the Franchise, as he is the CEO of football, so to speak.

 

Harbaugh probably used politics to get what he wanted, but often what he wanted was linked to some winning advantage.

It's been three years so I had to look it up. Psalms 27:3 in one article and Psalms 18:39 in another. Apparently it says "You armed me with strength for battle; you made my adversaries bow at my feet." I really wish I could remember the conversation better.

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I agree.  And it is also true that the majority of NFL players are poor kids from difficult circumstances growing up, and their size and skills are the only way to lift themselves up out of poverty and set their families on better footing for a few generations.  They make their decisions from that perspective, knowing that they will likely suffer permanent brain damage, as 70% of former NFL players statistically do.  So, it comes down to how much of a choice is it, really?  Especially for a kid in his early or mid 20's.  The NFL knows very well that the money will be the deciding factor.  The NFL is a conglomerate of giant corporations, all of who are in business for the same reason as any other business...to make money. Their decisions are based on that, not on morality.

 

I find it fascinating in a morbid sort of way that professional boxing even exists.  That is a "sport" whose entire goal is to create a concussion in the opponent sufficient to cause loss of consciousness.  Those kids are also poor.  And every one of those professional boxers end up with brain atrophy ("punch drunk").  These athletes are gladiators - there for the entertainment of spectators who are well-to-do and able to pay ridiculous prices for tickets to watch the poor folks injure themselves and others.  There is a reason that many of the stadiums are referred to as "colosseums."  Despite my awareness of this sad truth, I cannot help myself from enjoying and following this amazing sport of violence,  strategy, and skill. It is a metaphor for humankind's historical journey and its drive.

I think the head gear, and gloves made it safer for me. When I was in fourth grade I would walk home with Donnie, and Bobby. Bobby's dad was a boxer. My dad fought in Indianapolis when he was a kid, and won the city for his age. There was an open space between houses in a neighborhood. There we fought, and learned how to fight. I thought it strange at first. We weren't mad at each other, but we would fight. I got some of my worst licks in unsupervised bouts. Its a brutal sport. I never taught my son how to fight. I wasn't a hothead either. I recall only a few times I intentionally hurt someone. There was the time, a "gang" kid from California kept bragging about his life in the gangs. I got tired of it, and beat him up. Not proud about it, but it happened. He quit talking about it. Another time, I mentioned before. While playing football in our neighborhood, my friend took my head, and smashed it into the concrete under a downspout. I got stitches, and let it go. When the right moment happened, I cold cocked him, and left him there laying next to his new bike. It ruined the friendship, and it is something I have resented doing ever since. It did not fix anything.

 

The other altercations happened as a result of others. For some reason fighting was a way of life where and when I grew up. I was in a class room when the teacher left. A student, who had issues, was angry at me for making a higher grade. He grabbed my paper, and tried to hit me. I blocked a couple punches, and then tattooed his head. The teacher walked in. I acted like nothing happened. The other kid hit me. We went to the principal. It was hard to explain why he had a black eye, a cut on the lip, and swollen jaw. However, I didn't get kicked out or really in any kind of trouble. Another time, I had my own independent track class, where I would run instead of having a study hall. It was my senior year, and I was recovering from an Achilles injury from the previous spring. I was a senior. Two older students, at that time you could go to school until 22 years old, and they tried to injure me. Picked me up, and slammed me on my knees. I sent T. A. to the hospital with a cut across the eye. I locked myself inside the locker / cage. The gym teacher came in. They lied, but the other students around saw it, and already told him what happened. Terry finished school, and turned out alright. His brother shot someone, and went to prison. I got nicknamed the Atom smasher (play on words). I hated it. Most of my fights happened in and around school growing up. I got stabbed in junior high. I got a switch blade put to my throat, again in junior high. I got cold cocked out of the blue in "gym class", which was really a free for all with no supervision. This, again... in junior high.

 

I took a few hits in sports too. Basketball was wild when I went to school. Our teams were involved in several fights on the court. People came out of the stands. If that happened today, it would be on CNN. It was a different world back then, at least where I grew up. One thing though, it toughened me up. I would not have the room to write all the fights I have been in. It stopped when I became an adult. For some reason it was OK to assault someone when you were in school. Except for two occasions, I never started a fight. I am ashamed for those two instances. It was not called for. I was wrong, no matter my reasons. Everything else was due to standing up for myself or others. 

 

Concussions used to be something people joked about. I believe brain cells die every time a concussion happens. I am surprised I still have some left. When you box or play collision sports, somehow your body adjusts to the pain. The pain was more after the fact. In the moment, there was adrenaline, and that masked the pain. A bad concussion is different. You get sick at your stomach. Your head pounds. Your eyes hurt. The brain feels like it is detached from the skull. A concussion causes brain damage. Until it heals, the risk of subsequent damage is compounded. Even walking can hurt as your feet pound the floor. 

 

People get concussed taking risks. Skateboarding, bicycling, car or bike wrecks, or even just running into things can cause an injury. People have a need to take chances or risks. It doesn't always make sense. Youth seemingly have no fear. and that is perhaps because they have not experienced a pivot point. However, even when some have experienced great injuries, they continue to take risks that get them hurt. I think there is an age when people mature for the most part. At about 22 for women, and maybe a little later for men, the person tends to mature. They may still take risks, but there is generally a risk analysis that takes place, where before no risks were considered. 

 

Sports are an extension of war. It is civilized war. The reason the army picks young men at age 18 to enter their ranks is because they are still in the risk taking period of their life. I probably was about as strong as I ever was at age thirty, but I was as stupidly brave as I ever was at seventeen or eighteen. Sports keeps kids from entering gang life or from fighting on the streets. Its a trade off. Most people believe the NFL is full of criminals. Actually, the number of serious crimes, or minor offenses among professional athletes in the NFL are much lower than in life. In sports, you learn how to control aggression or you are out of the league. As with most things, there is no black and white, clear cut answer. 

 

Back to DAT. DAT in on a non injury related list, and has not practiced. The same goes for Mike DeVito. Both have apparently had pretty significant concussions this year. All I can say is I hope for the best. 

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I got nicknamed the Atom smasher (play on words). I hated it.

That was a fascinating account, but only because you said that you regret most of it. Some people talk about experiences like that with pride. There are really no life lessons learned in those instances, only the causing of pain. And as was the case with you, somehow once I got out of school, the fighting (or the threat of it) stopped.

 

Supposedly, school was supposed to prepare me for adulthood. Some of what I learned in the classroom was useful later in life, but for the most part, 90% of what I am and what I need to be in life I got elsewhere. Most of the experiences I had in the classroom, in the gym, and on the campus otherwise, didn't do more than teach me this fundamental lesson that some people are mean. Everything that was important to everyone in those days stopped being important once "real life" kicked in. All of the artificial hierarchies among students, and all of the forced association with people who hated you regardless of what terms you wanted to maintain with them became irrelevant upon exiting high school.

 

I'm glad I survived, and I'm glad that my list of regrets from those days are relatively short. I don't really understand why parents send their kids to school knowing that this is what campuses are like.

 

And about De'anthony Thomas, I wish him the best of health, and I'm glad he never has to sit in a tenth-grade classroom ever again.

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That was a fascinating account, but only because you said that you regret most of it. Some people talk about experiences like that with pride. There are really no life lessons learned in those instances, only the causing of pain. And as was the case with you, somehow once I got out of school, the fighting (or the threat of it) stopped.

 

Supposedly, school was supposed to prepare me for adulthood. Some of what I learned in the classroom was useful later in life, but for the most part, 90% of what I am and what I need to be in life I got elsewhere. Most of the experiences I had in the classroom, in the gym, and on the campus otherwise, didn't do more than teach me this fundamental lesson that some people are mean. Everything that was important to everyone in those days stopped being important once "real life" kicked in. All of the artificial hierarchies among students, and all of the forced association with people who hated you regardless of what terms you wanted to maintain with them became irrelevant upon exiting high school.

 

I'm glad I survived, and I'm glad that my list of regrets from those days are relatively short. I don't really understand why parents send their kids to school knowing that this is what campuses are like.

 

And about De'anthony Thomas, I wish him the best of health, and I'm glad he never has to sit in a tenth-grade classroom ever again.

I left. I seldom come back. When I run into people I knew back then, it reminds me, and makes me sad. I get no glee from other's disappointments.

 

I went to one class reunion, my 25th. The star athlete for the school (not a friend) kept sending the class idiot over to my table to offer me a job. Another guy on the ball team still held animosity towards me, and kept pushing my buttons. I smarted off to him. He tried to get me to go outside to fight. I was 43 years old, which is much too old to get arrested. He was drunk. I told him to go outside by the barn, adjacent to the pro shop, and wait for me. I never went out. He stayed out there for a good fifteen minutes before coming back inside. The class president looked like an amorphous cartoon character. His wife, a once beautiful, perky chick, now was fat, and ugly. The queen of the court was a chain smoking, bar fly, who hit on me right in front of my wife, because she was too drunk to identify I was married or did not care. I ended up in a corner table with a couple I did not know because he was from another state, and she only went the second half of her senior year. We left the event early, and got desert with the other couple. We promised to keep in touch, but never did.

 

I am sure a lot of other locations would have been similar. I do know where I currently live, the kids seem tight, and have less issues. My wife has a lot of classmates who seem to be sharp. However, if you look deep enough, there is mud to find all over. The trick is to stay to yourself, and not look too deeply. Its always best to remain blissfully unaware.  

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I think the head gear, and gloves made it safer for me. When I was in fourth grade I would walk home with Donnie, and Bobby. Bobby's dad was a boxer. My dad fought in Indianapolis when he was a kid, and won the city for his age. There was an open space between houses in a neighborhood. There we fought, and learned how to fight. I thought it strange at first. We weren't mad at each other, but we would fight. I got some of my worst licks in unsupervised bouts. Its a brutal sport. I never taught my son how to fight. I wasn't a hothead either. I recall only a few times I intentionally hurt someone. There was the time, a "gang" kid from California kept bragging about his life in the gangs. I got tired of it, and beat him up. Not proud about it, but it happened. He quit talking about it. Another time, I mentioned before. While playing football in our neighborhood, my friend took my head, and smashed it into the concrete under a downspout. I got stitches, and let it go. When the right moment happened, I cold cocked him, and left him there laying next to his new bike. It ruined the friendship, and it is something I have resented doing ever since. It did not fix anything.

 

The other altercations happened as a result of others. For some reason fighting was a way of life where and when I grew up. I was in a class room when the teacher left. A student, who had issues, was angry at me for making a higher grade. He grabbed my paper, and tried to hit me. I blocked a couple punches, and then tattooed his head. The teacher walked in. I acted like nothing happened. The other kid hit me. We went to the principal. It was hard to explain why he had a black eye, a cut on the lip, and swollen jaw. However, I didn't get kicked out or really in any kind of trouble. Another time, I had my own independent track class, where I would run instead of having a study hall. It was my senior year, and I was recovering from an Achilles injury from the previous spring. I was a senior. Two older students, at that time you could go to school until 22 years old, and they tried to injure me. Picked me up, and slammed me on my knees. I sent T. A. to the hospital with a cut across the eye. I locked myself inside the locker / cage. The gym teacher came in. They lied, but the other students around saw it, and already told him what happened. Terry finished school, and turned out alright. His brother shot someone, and went to prison. I got nicknamed the Atom smasher (play on words). I hated it. Most of my fights happened in and around school growing up. I got stabbed in junior high. I got a switch blade put to my throat, again in junior high. I got cold cocked out of the blue in "gym class", which was really a free for all with no supervision. This, again... in junior high.

 

I took a few hits in sports too. Basketball was wild when I went to school. Our teams were involved in several fights on the court. People came out of the stands. If that happened today, it would be on CNN. It was a different world back then, at least where I grew up. One thing though, it toughened me up. I would not have the room to write all the fights I have been in. It stopped when I became an adult. For some reason it was OK to assault someone when you were in school. Except for two occasions, I never started a fight. I am ashamed for those two instances. It was not called for. I was wrong, no matter my reasons. Everything else was due to standing up for myself or others. 

 

Concussions used to be something people joked about. I believe brain cells die every time a concussion happens. I am surprised I still have some left. When you box or play collision sports, somehow your body adjusts to the pain. The pain was more after the fact. In the moment, there was adrenaline, and that masked the pain. A bad concussion is different. You get sick at your stomach. Your head pounds. Your eyes hurt. The brain feels like it is detached from the skull. A concussion causes brain damage. Until it heals, the risk of subsequent damage is compounded. Even walking can hurt as your feet pound the floor. 

 

People get concussed taking risks. Skateboarding, bicycling, car or bike wrecks, or even just running into things can cause an injury. People have a need to take chances or risks. It doesn't always make sense. Youth seemingly have no fear. and that is perhaps because they have not experienced a pivot point. However, even when some have experienced great injuries, they continue to take risks that get them hurt. I think there is an age when people mature for the most part. At about 22 for women, and maybe a little later for men, the person tends to mature. They may still take risks, but there is generally a risk analysis that takes place, where before no risks were considered. 

 

Sports are an extension of war. It is civilized war. The reason the army picks young men at age 18 to enter their ranks is because they are still in the risk taking period of their life. I probably was about as strong as I ever was at age thirty, but I was as stupidly brave as I ever was at seventeen or eighteen. Sports keeps kids from entering gang life or from fighting on the streets. Its a trade off. Most people believe the NFL is full of criminals. Actually, the number of serious crimes, or minor offenses among professional athletes in the NFL are much lower than in life. In sports, you learn how to control aggression or you are out of the league. As with most things, there is no black and white, clear cut answer. 

 

Back to DAT. DAT in on a non injury related list, and has not practiced. The same goes for Mike DeVito. Both have apparently had pretty significant concussions this year. All I can say is I hope for the best. 

Great post, Eraser.  I enjoyed it, and it made me think of an old saying: "Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment" :lol:

 

I am sure DAT and DeVito are conflicted.  But DeVito is a big guy.  DAT is 176 lb with clothes on and probably has no business being on a field with NFL players.  But, you know...money.  I hope for the best for both of them also. 

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DAT is a no show and the Chiefs really need him on special teams.

Hammond is a liability at PR and KR.

He pulls that crap of running out of the back of the end zone in the playoffs and it could cost the Chiefs the game.

All I ask of Hammond in the playoffs is not to muff any punts, especially in the AFCC. Don't try to be a hero. Don't emulate Kelce. Go out of bounds if you're going that way. (I saw him fight to stay in bounds with this back towards the sideline to get one more yard. That's not smart. That's just asking for a strip ball. Believe it or not, that one yard is not that important no matter what they tell you or your job security tells you. Put the pressure on the offense to regain that yard.) Do not fair catch a ball that's going to bounce into the end zone. Unless, of course, it's a kickoff and not a punt.

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All I ask of Hammond in the playoffs is not to muff any punts, especially in the AFCC. Don't try to be a hero. Don't emulate Kelce. Go out of bounds if you're going that way. (I saw him fight to stay in bounds with this back towards the sideline to get one more yard. That's not smart. That's just asking for a strip ball. Believe it or not, that one yard is not that important no matter what they tell you or your job security tells you. Put the pressure on the offense to regain that yard.) Do not fair catch a ball that's going to bounce into the end zone. Unless, of course, it's a kickoff and not a punt.

The true irony would be- when we get there, a muff punt doesn't cost us- a la SF the last time Smith was there headed to the bowl...

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