McKellar 1

Jon McKellar
Robin Kramer
CAS 137H
November 2nd, 2015
Ringing the Bell on Bell-Ringing
Alzheimers disease, Parkinsons disease, Lou Gehrigs disease/ALS, depression, and
dementia, are merely a few of the debilitating conditions leading to a tragic and fateful end for
many professional football players. These ailments, and the suicide they often cause, are
perfectly expectable side effects of a recently discovered illness known as chronic traumatic
encephalopathy, or CTE (Mayo). With the advent of research being conducted by labs on CTE
across the country, footballs tough-guy culture is being shaken to its very core. In the past few
decades, a growing number of cases related to concussions amongst professional football players
have brought the danger and viciousness of the sport to light. Increased awareness of the effects
of traumatic brain injuries on former professional athletes stemming from improved research and
poignant anecdotal examples has vastly altered the game from one of machismo and pushing
through pain to one of caution and logic, demonstrating a significant shift in the perception of
concussions in sports.
For over a century, football has been a cornerstone of American athletics; it has become
baseballs violent counterpart, sweeping the nation with sensationalized violence and
orchestrated destruction. Theodore Roosevelt spoke of football as a rough, manly sport, one in
which he had no sympathy [for injury] so long as it is not fatal (Beschloss). Even though
Roosevelt was known to be a tough president, his opinion on football was a commonly accepted
notion of the time period in which he lived. In the early 20th century, football was nothing like it

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is today. The forward pass was not allowed, there was no neutral line of scrimmage, players did
not wear any formal safety gear, and strategy revolved around physically incapacitating the other
teams strongest player. Recognizing the publics mounting safety concerns surrounding college
football at the time, Roosevelt called together officials from various universities and demanded
they change the rules to fix the game or abolish football altogether (Beschloss). While long ago,
Roosevelts actions are germane to the modern cultural crossroads that the league faces on
concussions; they demonstrate some of the first changes that ever took place in the game for
safety reasons.
While Roosevelt acted in accordance with public opinion to try and protect football
players, calling for change was nowhere near adequate to make the game truly safe. As far as
rules are concerned, more recent changes have continued the trend set forth by Roosevelt to
develop a safer game while preserving the true spirit of football. Today, the NFL has taken steps
to protect defenseless receivers, outlaw targeting/tackling head first in 2013, and to remove some
danger from the carnage-producing kickoff by moving the spot of the kick up to the 35-yard line
in 2011 (Vrentas). These changes have yielded strong-willed responses, both in support and in
opposition. Supporters call for safety of players above else, even proposing more changes in the
rules such as doing away with the standard 3-point stance for linemen that often leads to jawrattling head-to-head contact (New). Other sources, however, criticize the leagues efforts to
protect players, primarily on the grounds that Goodell (the NFL commissioner) is destroying the
very essence of football.
Be they called for or not, the leagues implementation of new safety precautions in and of
itself is a clear shift away from the brutality of years past into a more modern era that places
emphasis on the notion of players as vulnerable humans rather than rough-and-tumble men.

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Clearly, safety as an aspect of football has been an issue for over a century. However, with newer
research regarding the debilitating effects of head-to-head collisions, the league has shifted the
focus to protecting the most valuable asset of any human: his mind. New voices called for
abandonment of the tough-guy mentality, demanding a shift in the way players, coaches, and
spectators approached the game in an attempt to preserve the players wellbeing.
This newfound call for change has come as a result of an increased number of cases of
player suicide. Dave Duerson shot himself in the chest in 2011, leaving a note to test his brain for
signs of CTE (which he turned out to have had). In 2012, Ray Easterling took his own life as a
result of chronic depression he faced in tandem with CTE. Kosta Karageorge killed himself in
2014, citing his embarrassment at suffering from post-concussion effects (Locker). Three
incredible athletes, each choosing death over the terrible life they faced as a result of concussion
related issues. The existence of such harrowing stories focused public opinion on the need to do
something to hamper the development of CTE in former gridiron stars.
Even with the prevalence of high-profile suicides as a result of brain related injury, a true
shift required increased knowledge about concussions and a more proactive method for handling
them. For years, concussions were a downplayed aspect of athletic competition. Euphemisms to
describe them were ubiquitous in years past: getting your bell rung, getting dinged, seeing stars,
etc. In using such lightened verbiage rather than the vastly more negative but medically
accurate term traumatic brain injury, the perception of the severity of the injuries was
diminished. As someone whos suffered multiple concussions, I was never told that I simply got
my bell rung. Coaches were adept at handling the situation; they stayed out of the situation and
handed it over to trainers. These trainers treated the issue as what it truly is: a medical concern
that could lead to significantly more serious issues.

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More concretely evident than changing language surrounding concussions, immediate
medical attention to potential brain injuries has evolved as well. Only a few decades ago,
treatment for concussions or sub-concussive hits was all but nonexistent. Players would trivialize
any symptoms that could possibly prevent them from playing, a result of the tough-guy mentality
that I will detail later. Out of this environment came an initial slight improvement in which
players were then subject to the classic follow the finger test and told, as Carrol Cole writes in a
snide tone, to tape two aspirin to their helmet in case they needed them (Cole). Still nowhere
near the medical attention that concussions truly necessitate, steps at least were being taken that
demonstrated a gradual shift from the perspective in the 1980s that something simply wasnt
working right during a concussion to the more modern view of an anatomical injury that includes
trauma to neurons as the brain sloshes around inside of the skull (Cole). This treatment shift as a
result of changing scientific understandings of the true nature of concussion was a precursor to
the more significant cultural changes to follow.
While the science and perception of concussions in football were vital to the changing
attitudes of the general public as well as players and other NFL personnel, the most striking and
telling shift grew out of cultural changes in the way we defined masculinity and toughness. For
centuries, a true man was one who exemplified gladiatorial resilience and brute strength in
overcoming adversity. That man could fight through the pain, push through the temporary
blindness and tackle through the wooziness in order to support his team. However, many
attribute this tough-guy culture to be the cause of some of the most striking tales of football
players lives cut short.
A player who thrived in the passionate culture of toughness that permeated the NFL at
the turn of the century, Junior Seau, the first player whose football jersey I owned, fell victim to

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the gladiatorial culture. According to some, including Seaus wife Gina, this macho-man culture
may have been the very cause for Seaus eventual suicide at only 43 years old. His wife pointed
out that he always bounced back and kept on playing. He was a warrior [football is] not
ballet (Velasco). Seau epitomized the football attitude that Theodore Roosevelt espoused: fight
hard and do what you can to win for your team, injuries aside. Staff writer of Football Operations
Mike Tanier points out in light of Seaus suicide that the NFL needs to do away with the tough
guy rhetoric (Velasco). It is this very mentality (and attempts to change it) that lies at the crux of
the concussion issue in the NFL today.
While Seau perfectly fit the machismo of the NFL at the turn of the century, Chris
Borland of the San Francisco 49ers serves as a crucial foil to Seaus mindset. Borland was a third
round draft pick in 2014 for San Francisco. Even after a breakout rookie season as the 49ers top
tackler, Borland retired from the league at the age of 24 in fear of concussions and the
debilitating effects they have on NFL players (Fantz). Such a bold act would have been
unthinkable 20 years ago. Retiring without any injury or hampering factors was unheard of in
that time period. Borland did receive some of the same criticism that he would have 20 years
ago, mainly on account of the millions of dollars he was opting out of, but the fact that Borland
even felt able to retire so early is telling about the shifting perceptions of the league.
Chris Borlands unprecedented early retirement made a statement about the state of
affairs regarding concussions in the NFL. In the 90s, no player would even consider such an
early retirement. Even sitting out games with injuries, especially hidden ones like concussions,
would earn a player abuse and criticism from fellow players (Velasco). Even today, players
sometimes face difficult decisions in sitting out games, as demonstrated in the outbursts against
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger sitting out a game with post-concussion symptoms. He

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was heavily criticized by his own teammates, most notably by all-star wide out Hines Ward
(Fantz). While most would argue that the criticism has decreased for such an act, this incident
showcases that the issue is still hotly contested.
Although vestiges of the older times still remain, as shown by the Steelers example, it is
straightforward enough to show that things have changed in the NFL. Concussion awareness is
heightened, rules have been implemented, and the negative response to putting safety first has
diminished (but not disappeared). So what? What do these dramatic shifts in the way we look at
brain injuries in some of the most stereotypically tough men in the country say about us?
Most notably, these drastic changes demonstrate the changing definition of being a man
in modern society. As Ive mentioned, historically, football has been the tough-guy sport. You
played if you liked being bloody, scarred, and sore according to former professional tight end
Nate Jackson (Karaim). You played to put your team first, and this unending devotion to
something higher than yourself, through all sorts of battering, was the epitome of manhood. The
new safety measures, however, show the gradual transition towards treating players as vulnerable
people, not invincible warriors who need to suck it up. This reduction in machismo in the NFL
parallels the cultural shift resulting from changes in concussion awareness.
Moreover, the role of manliness has not only lost some of its stereotypical bravado, but it
has gained in its stead a uniquely new facet: logic. When Chris Borland shocked the league and
the country by retiring (if it can even be called retiring so young) at the age of 24, Chris Long of
the St. Louis Rams brought up an illustrative point through one of our favorite societal
barometers: Twitter. Long tweeted shortly after Borlands announcement: It takes a man to be
logical (Fantz). Making that decision to protect ones own health can be much more difficult
than playing through the pain. One high school coach, upon hearing that a large portion of his

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players would lie to him about concussion symptoms in order to keep playing, admitted that he
would have done the same thing when he was a player (Karaim). Considering the disparity
between Longs reaction and the coachs admittance to hiding symptoms, it is clear the football
culture has undergone a revolution. Players before were solely measured on their grittiness and
their ability to play through pain. Today, however, we can see a clear transition into valuing
maturity in decision making as an important factor of manliness.
All in all, football still stands at a cultural crossroads on concussions that is mirrored in
the perception of manliness in the league. There are those, like Seattle cornerback and notorious
heavy-hitter Richard Sherman who claim that the NFL is watering down the game and the
players know the risks (Sherman). Former tight end Nate Jackson espouses a similar philosophy,
arguing that football isnt safe, just like water isnt dry (Karaim). These two statements
represent the older perceptions that players could play through pain, and this was the true
testament to ones mettle. However, with the growing research into CTE and the impact of
repeated sub-concussive impact on a players brain coupled with league-wide initiatives, that
culture has shifted away from tough-guy rhetoric and into a mode of awareness and logic.
Players are no longer the invincible gladiators that once stalked the gridiron looking for blood;
they are breakable, and the league is slowly abandoning its suck it up philosophy.
There is no arguing whether or not there has been a shift in the way the league, its
players, and the general public perceive concussions and traumatic brain injuries; the cultural
change is now going further than simply telling us about ourselves and our perceptions of
manhood it is also impacting other cultural indicators. Slated for release this winter is a new
film bluntly named Concussion, starring Will Smith, a quintessential mans man, that deals a
blow to the NFLs stifling of the CTE research performed by Bennet Omalu (Conway). The film

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never would have existed before the paradigm shift that has rocked the NFL to its very core. This
shift has come full circle, growing out of a cultural change only to influence its own cultural
change in popular culture.
Undoubtedly, there is an ebb and flow to the shifting perception of concussions in the
NFL society and culture impact football only to have football impact them in return, as
demonstrated by Concussion. This cyclic shift has permeated many facets of American society.
In contrast to Roosevelts adoration for the violence of football as a rough and manly pastime,
President Obama expressed his qualms of letting a hypothetical son play the game, arguing that
the NFL needs to change its suck it up culture (Vrentas). From president to president, over one
hundred years, the game of football has kept its seat in the limelight. It has grown and evolved,
becoming less violent and more guarded, changing its culture from one of play through it to
get that checked out. The development of better technology surrounding concussions have
been focal to the shifting attitudes and beliefs. Coupled with this improving knowledge and
research, more prevalent stories of suicide amongst the leagues top players challenge the core
beliefs of the NFL, igniting a dramatic cultural shift in the perception of concussions overall.
Notwithstanding the dramatic developments of research and scientific studies,
controversy still remains as the league attempts to reconcile the inherently violent nature of
football with the need for a safer game (Vrentas). Society is doing what it can to make the game
safer. Perception of NFL players has shifted away from invincible to gladiator to rational and
vulnerable human. How will the coming years augment or hamper the shift to a more logical and
aware culture? Only time will tell.

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Works Cited
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New York Times Company, 1 Aug. 2014. Web. 22 Oct. 2015.
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Cole, Carrol. "Uncovering Concussions." Chicago Health. Northwest, 2012. Web. 22 Oct. 2015.
<http://chicagohealthonline.com/uncovering-concussions/>.
Conway, Tyler. "Concussion Movie: Trailer, 2015 Release Date for New Will Smith Movie."
Bleacher Report. Turner Broadcasting, 31 Aug. 2015. Web. 22 Oct. 2015.
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Fantz, Ashley. "Chris Borland, 24, to Retire from NFL, Cites Fear of Concussions." CNN.
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Karaim, Reed. "NFL Controversies." CQ Researcher 4 Sept. 2015: 721-44. Web. 22 Oct. 2015.
Locker, Melissa. "Football Head Impacts Can Cause Brain Changes Even Without Concussion."
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Mayo Clinic Staff. "Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy." Mayo Clinic. Mayo Foundation for
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Sherman, Richard. "We Chose This Profession." The MMQB. Sports Illustrated, 23 Oct. 2013.
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Velasco, Schuyler. "Junior Seau tragedy shakes NFL, intensifies concern about head injuries."
Christian Science Monitor 03 May 2012: N.PAG. Academic Search Complete. Web. 22
Oct. 2015.
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