On March 8, 2000, Boston Bruin defenseman Marty McSorley was charged with assault with a weapon when he attacked Vancouver Canucks forward Donald Brashear with his stick during the February 21 game in Vancouver.  The strike and subsequent fall to the ice resulted in a Grade 3 concussion.  Brashear did not fully recover from his injury and never played professional hockey again. Later that year, McSorley was found guilty of assault with a weapon and sentenced to 18 months probation.  The NHL suspended McSorley for a full year, after which he too never played in another NHL game.

I was reminded of the McSorley/Brashear incident during the second quarter of yesterday’s Packers/Giants playoff game.  Green Bay wide receiver Jordy Nelson was struck in his leftt side by New York defensive back Leon Hall while attempting to catch an Aaron Rogers pass. Initial injury reports range from bruised ribs to possible damage to Nelson’s kidneys and spleen.

I am not suggesting Hall be charged with assault ala McSorley.  But as I continued to watch the game I noticed something which I believe is the cause such incidents are becoming more frequent with an increasing number of serious injuries.

I never played competitive football other than pick-up games, most under the rules associated with what is known as touch or flag football.  On rare occasions the game included tackling and blocking.  However, even in those contests involving full contact, not once was a teammate or opponent carried off the field or injured beyond a few scrapes or surface bruises.

Consider the following.  First, in those days, tackling meant wrapping your arms around an opponent to halt his forward progress.  Watch today’s game.  The art of “tackling” has given way to “knocking” an opponent to the ground, something which requires more force than that needed to bring a runner or receiver down by clutching his legs or lower body.  Second, we did not wear any protective gear.  Therefore, a tackler needed to be equally concerned about his own safety as that of his target.  Leading with the crown of one’s head is only rational if the defensive player has a false sense of security ironically heightened by design improvements to equipment meant to decrease injuries from blows to the cranium.

Imagine you weighed 200 pounds and could run a 40 yard dash in less than five seconds (an NFL standard for defensive backs).  Now, whenever driving your car, you put on headgear consisting of a hard plastic shell with thick padding inside.  For good measure, your headgear includes metal bars coated with plastic which protect your face.  During a road rage encounter, you lower your head and ram someone with the crown of your headgear.  Most people would consider that unacceptable regardless whether the attack resulted in injury.  Yet, minus road rage as a trigger, this is exactly what happens several times during every NFL game.

The major difference is. in the case of professional football, humans are paid large sums of money to subject themselves to these physical assaults.  In other words, civil suits stemming from these forms of violence, are settled out of court prior to the incident.  And the compensation for future injuries is called player’s salary.  Unfortunately, college players ink the same out of court settlements on signing day except those documents do not include the compensatory financial award.

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP